


The Scavenger Hunt

by rarticalsista



Category: Warehouse 13
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-08-26
Updated: 2014-04-01
Packaged: 2017-12-24 17:20:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 41,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/942544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rarticalsista/pseuds/rarticalsista
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The entire team take part in a scavenger hunt. They find themselves performing many outrageous tasks, ranging from a simple kiss with anyone  to unleashing Helena in an adults only store for the first time. All characters are heavily featured and there will eventually be Bering and Wells.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It was early on Friday evening and the entire warehouse team were seated around the dining room table enjoying dessert when Artie announced that he had something important to share with them. He waited until they were all silent before speaking.

"I've been informed by Mrs Frederic that you are all in need of a little vacation time."

"Alright!" Pete exclaimed as Claudia leaned across the table and high-fived him.

"When do we leave?"

"Where are we going?"

They all started talking over each other, enthusiastic at the idea of a little time away from the warehouse.

"Enough!" Artie yelled, frustrated by the interruption. Everyone stopped talking immediately and looked at him. "As I was saying, she has  _insisted_  that you all take a one week vacation away from the Warehouse but not all at once. Artifacts never rest, so you can't all take the time off together."

Pete went to speak but Artie raised his hand to silence him. "Over the next three weeks you will all take a vacation. We can only spare two of you at a time. Decide amongst yourselves who goes first. Two of you will leave Sunday." He stood from the table and walked towards the kitchen.

Noise erupted in the room as everyone started talking over each other again. After several minutes of bickering Pete whistled loudly causing everyone to look at him.

"Obviously we aren't going to agree who gets the first week, so how about a competition that will be fair for everyone?"

"What do you suggest?" Myka asked intrigued.

"A scavenger hunt! He exclaimed excited. "We split into pairs and everyone gets to suggest things for us to do, the harder the challenge the higher the points."

Everyone took a moment to think it over.

"This won't be a kiddy hunt with us finding maps and napkins right?" Steve asked as he thought of potential challenges.

"Hell no! We are going all out! Potential felony challenges." Pete smiled as he pictured the scenarios.

"I don't know Pete, it could go badly." Myka said being the voice of reason and responsibility. She knew if anyone was going to get blamed by Artie for allowing this, it would be her.

"Where's your sense of adventure darling?" Helena purred next to her.

"Yeah Mykes, let loose and have some fun for once."

"I have fun." She insisted.

"Well then what do you say? You up for it?" Pete asked and everyone looked towards her pleadingly.

"Fine! But if we get scolded by Artie you will tell him that I tried to stop you all."

"Deal!"

* * *

"Some of those are extreme! Can we please erase a few of those?" Myka asked an hour later as she looked over the list of suggested ideas.

"No way! Those are amazing!" Claudia insisted.

"We cannot do all of those in one day. We have to narrow down the list." Steve said as he read over the list of fifty suggestions, many of which would likely result in being arrested.

"I don't want to get rid of any of them." Claudia said and Pete agreed.

"He's right though, we cannot complete even half of those in one day." Abigail said as she re-entered the room holding a tray of drinks. "We could achieve twenty of them."

"What twenty though?" Myka asked.

"I can create a program that will select twenty at random. I'll activate it in the morning before we leave." Claudia suggested.

"Wait! How about we split it again?" Pete raised his hand to stop any protesting. "Hear me out. We get ten challenges in the morning and the other ten halfway through the day. The final five will be ones that we will have to be together for. Can you write a program for that Claude?"

"Piece of cake!" She said confidently as she brushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Settled! We'll do that in the morning after we draw teams. Rest up everyone, you'll need it if you want to beat me." He grabbed a drink from the tray and walked towards the kitchen.

Helena followed his lead and stood from the table to head to her room. She stood in the doorway leading to the foyer and waited for Myka to approach.

"I do hope we are fortunate enough to be on the same team darling. I believe you would look ravishing in a bikini." Helena whispered to Myka before turning away and walking up the stairs. Myka stood frozen to the spot as she tried to recover from the feelings that Helena had stirred deep inside her yet again. They had always flirted with each other but it had become more frequent over the past few months. She knew what she felt for Helena and was sure that Helena had feelings other than friendship for her; she was just waiting for a confirmation before acting on her feelings.

"Are you two ever going to get a room?" Steve asked as he walked through the doorway snapping Myka out of her thoughts. He laughed quietly as he noticed the blush on her cheeks spread.

"Uh.. goodnight Steve." Myka smiled at him and quickly made her way up the stairs.

"Are they together?" Abigail asked as she and Claudia followed Steve towards the living room.

"We're not sure." Claudia said as she grabbed the TV remote before sitting in the recliner.

"All I know for sure is that there is definitely something there and it is not just friendship."

"I certainly see that." Abigail agreed.

* * *

Myka was the last person to enter the dining room a little after 7am the following morning. She yawned as she took her seat next to Helena.

"Good morning darling."

Myka leaned into Helena and rested her head on her shoulder. "It's too early to be up on my day off." She felt Helena chuckle and smiled.

"Well you best win the vacation so you can sleep in for the next week."

"Alright, now that we are all here we can determine the teams." Pete said as he stood from his seat. He grabbed six straws and arranged them so they were displaying equal heights. "Everyone grab a straw, those who pick the three longest straws will choose the names of those with the shorter straws, out of this hat." He held out a baseball hat. "Alright, everyone pick your straw."

Pete, Myka and Claudia selected the longer straws and had chosen a remaining name from the hat.

"So it's settled, Claudia and Abigail, Myka and Steve and H.G and myself. Now we just need the list. Do it Claude." Pete instructed. Everyone except Myka stood around Claudia as she ran the program to select the first ten tasks. A few sighs and groans were heard.

"No complaining. Rules are as follow. You must get proof of the completion of each task. No proof, no points. They can be completed in any order. Oh and try not to get arrested. Everyone get ready, we leave for Sioux Falls in five minutes." Pete announced and left the room to gather anything he thought he may need. Steve, Claudia and Abigail followed, leaving Myka and Helena alone.

"It is a shame that we are not on the same team together but i'd be glad to offer my assistance for a few tasks." Helena said quietly as she grabbed Myka's hand and pulled her to her feet.

"Really, which ones?" Myka asked curiously, she had yet to see the final list but knew that Helena was being genuine.

"Tasks 2 and 3." She smiled mischievously as she dashed from the room, leaving Myka speechless as she looked over the list in front of her.

_'Task #2 - Get a kiss from anyone. -25 points per person' 'Task #3 - Get a date. -30 points per date'_


	2. Costume Crusaders

A little over an hour later the warehouse team were travelling in three separate vehicles on their way to Sioux Falls. It had been a unanimous decision to not attempt any of the tasks in Univille as it would no doubt bring them unwanted attention and a reprimanding from Artie and possibly even Mrs Frederic.

Steve was driving Myka's SUV as his Prius was out of action. She had opted for him to drive so she could research possible locations for their first ten tasks, well 8 of them atleast. She was certain that Helena had been serious about offering to assist her with tasks 2 and 3.

"This is proving to be more difficult than I thought it would be." Myka said as she read over the list. "I've found a location for us to complete the first task though."

"Which one was the first task?"

_"An opposing team must choose any cartoon character duo from the 80s or 90s for your rivals to dress as for the entirety of the competition. – 50 points.""_ We get to choose for Pete and Helena."

Steve was interrupted from responding by the sound of his phone alerting him to a new message. He grabbed it out of his pocket and handed it to Myka. "Can you read that for me?"

"Sure." Myka groaned as she read over the message. "Claudia has chosen our costumes."

"What did she pick?"

"Fred and Daphne from Scooby Doo." Steve laughed at the annoyance in her voice.

"That's not bad."

"For you. I have to spend the entire day running around in a skimpy dress and heels."

"I bet H.G will appreciate it."

"You're lucky you are driving or I would hit you right now." She mock glared at him but her voice was filled with amusement.

"Yeah yeah. So what are we gonna choose for Pete and H.G?"

They spent the next few minutes sharing ideas when Myka jumped in her seat excitedly and turned to Steve, "I have the perfect costumes for them."

* * *

"So where will you go for your vacation?" Abigail asked from the passenger seat.

"I don't know. I've seen a lot of the world already but haven't really taken the time to kick back and enjoy it, you know?"

"Yeah I do."

"I'm just in this for the fun and possible mayhem." She shrugged and continued to focus on the drive hoping that it would be the end of the discussion.

After several minutes of awkward silence and quickly building tension, Abigail spoke. "I know you would rather be partnered with Steve. It's fine."

"No! No it's not that." She said honestly, not wanting to hurt her feelings. "It's just that he's really the only person I would like to go on a vacation with. He's the closest to my age and Josh is on an expedition or something for the next month." She took a deep breath before continuing. "It's just that I have no one else to visit and he's the one person I would want to spend a week away from the warehouse with."

Abigail placed her hand on Claudia's forearm and squeezed it reassuringly. "I understand completely and it is absolutely fine to feel that way."

Claudia looked at her for a split second and smiled. It had taken some time but she had learned to let Abigail in. It was something that was proving to be an excellent decision. "Thank you. Really."

"Of course."

They continue to drive, both relieved that some of the tension had broken. It was a little while later when Abigail received a message from Helena. "They have chosen Angelica Pickles and Susie Carmichael from Rugrats."

"Awesome! I loved that cartoon as a kid."

"I call dibs on Susie."

"Fine by me."

* * *

"Yabba Dabba Doo!" Pete said loudly as he stepped into the change-room.

"What on earth are you on about?" Helena asked confused as she peeked out from behind her change-room curtain.

"I'm Fred Flintstone." He pointed at his outfit; a bright orange robe that was jagged at the shoulders and just below the knees with black triangles scatted over it and a large, bright blue tie.

"Yes, I haven't the foggiest."

"Right, wrong century for you. Nevermind." He stood outside her change-room for several minutes listening to her groan repeatedly and state that she detested dresses. "Come on H.G. It's only a dress and if I can wear one then so can you."

"Yes, but yours goes past your knees."

"It's just how my costume is."

"Atleast Myka chose a suitable one for you." "Although she certainly got it right by depicting you as a caveman." She mumbled behind the curtain.

"Hey! I heard that."

"How do I look?" She asked as she pulled the curtain back and turned around.

His jaw dropped. "You went with the two piece suit?!" He looked her over. She was wearing a light blue halter top which was secured by a thin black strip of material that looped around her neck, a thick black belt with bones scattered vertically around it sat on top of a very short, matching blue, mini skirt with jagged edges and to finish it off she had pinned her hair into a Victorian style Bob. He thought she looked stunning. After realising he'd been staring for too long he quickly snapped his head up to meet her eyes and was greeted by her familiar smirk.

"I take it that I made the right choice?"

"Uh, I, i'll let Myka be the judge." He handed his phone over to an employee so that she could take a picture of the two of them. He sent it to Myka and Claudia as proof that they had completed the first part of the task.

As they stood in line at the register Helena's phone received a message. Pete looked at her as she read it and noticed as she grinned fully. He didn't even need to ask who the message was from, she only ever smiled like that when she was thinking of one person. Myka.

* * *

"I can't believe that they actually had these in stock." Claudia said as she walked out of the costume shop. She was wearing a blonde wig with two pigtails perched on either side, secured by purple bow ties, a purple dress with an orange shirt underneath, dark blue leggings with large dark green circles and purple shoes.

"I'm surprised also." Abigail agreed as she looked over her own outfit which consisted of a yellow shirt with large purple, flower shaped splotches, purple pants and red sandals. She had her hair tied into three pony tailed plaits.

"Here, Steve just sent me a picture of his and Myka's outfits." Claudia said as she handed her the phone.

"Wow! That dress is something else!"

"H.G is so going to owe me big time for suggesting that."

* * *

Steve stood outside the dressing room to wait for Myka. He was fortunate to have a simple outfit that consisted of blue jeans, a long sleeve white shirt with a blue collar and an orange ascot around his neck. He opted against purchasing a wig as his hair was already blonde.

"Remind me to get Claudia back for making me wear this." Myka said as she stepped out of the dressing room. Steve looked her from head to toe and smiled. She was wearing knee high, light purple boots, a tight, bright purple dress that went to mid thigh and a lime green scarf around her neck.

"You look great." She looked at him sceptically. "You really do."

"Why couldn't I have been Velma?" She groaned as she tugged the dress down but it refused to budge.

"Because Claudia knows that H.G. will appreciate this outfit more." He handed her her phone with the picture of Pete and Helena in their costumes on the screen. He smiled as he noticed the smile grace her lips. "I see you clearly like her costume."

She closed the picture and bit her lip nervously. "I think she asked me out before we left."

"What? Like a date?" He asked shocked. He wasn't surprised that Helena had asked Myka out, their feelings for each other were obvious. What surprised him was that Myka was choosing to share her feelings with  _him_.

"I think so." She was confused about the situation and really needed to share her thoughts with someone before she started to overthink it. She knew she could confide in Steve and that he would not share any information with the others without her permission.

"Well what did you say?" He asked gently.

"Nothing, she caught me off guard and left before I could answer."

"Well what would your answer have been?" He smiled as he noticed a faint blush creep along her cheeks.

"I don't know." She turned away from him and hoped he wouldn't call her out on her lie.

"Yes you do." ' _Dammit_ ' she thought to herself. "So?"

"Yes" She said quietly but Steve heard it.

"What was that?" He teased.

"Yes, I would have said yes." She huffed, only slightly annoyed at his persistence.

"Excellent, that's 30 points for task 3." He laughed and walked towards the front of the store.

"I haven't said yes  _yet_." She said as she followed him.

"No but you will by the end of the day." He said confidently. Myka smiled as she felt a fuzzy warmth spread in her chest. Having the reassurance from Steve gave her the courage she needed. She was now determined to secure not only the date with Helena but the kiss to go with it by the end of the day. She typed a quick message on her phone and pressed send before she could talk herself out of it.

* * *

Helena felt her heart skip a beat as she read the message from Myka,  _"Will you be wearing that on our date?"_


	3. Busking

"So what's next on the list?" Steve asked Myka as he climbed into the driver's seat.

"Well if we complete the list in order, number 2 is to get a kiss from someone." She answered as she secured her seatbelt and tried in vain to pull her dress down to her knees.

"Oh well you can get that from H.G." He teased. "Although she'd be getting the points too so it kinda defeats the purpose."

"We could set up a booth and  _you_  could kiss strangers?" She playful chided.

"My name is not Pete." There wasn't a rule against it and knowing Pete, he would jump at the chance to kiss beautiful women. They hoped that Helena would be able to talk him out of actually doing it.

"What's task 3?"

"Secure a date with anyone." Myka said and he smiled at the happiness in her voice. He looked at her momentarily and noticed the full smile she was wearing.

"Have you done that yet?"

"Not entirely sure. I sent Helena a text asking if she would be wearing the costume on the date."

"Can you two ever simplify things?"

"Where is the fun in that?" She playfully smiled at him and he rolled his eyes in response.

"Well let's assume she says yes.."

"But she hasn't yet." Myka said interrupting him.

"She will though. What's number 4?"

"15 points for any phone numbers we receive."

Steve thought it over. Between the two of them he knew it was going to be a tough challenge. Myka wouldn't lead anyone on; especially not now that she had all but confirmed a date with Helena. He knew that it would be up to him to achieve the points but it had been some time since he had hit on anyone and it was never something he was overly confident doing. "We'll come back to that one."

Myka nodded and read over the list again. "We can do number 5 now. Earn $20 from busking for 25 points."

"How are we going to do that, I don't know about you but I don't have any amazing talents."

"That is not true. You can tell when anyone lies, that alone is amazing."

"Yeah but it tends to just piss people off." ' _And push them away'_  he thought as he remembered how much of a burden his ability had been in the past. Being able to tell lies was something he had become used to overtime but it never failed to frustrate him.

"Well let's brainstorm and figure out what we are good at."

* * *

"Claudia what are we doing at this park?" Abigail asked as Claudia pulled into a parking spot facing a large crowded park in the middle of the city.

"Completing Task 5." She stated simply as she stepped out of the vehicle.

"How do you plan on earning money?"

"With this." Claudia opened the trunk and pulled out her acoustic guitar case.

"I can't sing." Abigail protested.

"You won't have to. Are you happy to film though?"

"Absolutely." She said relieved.

They made their way towards a large crowd that had gathered near a playground and skatepark. Claudia left her guitar case open as she collected her guitar and started to play. It took a little over ten minutes but she had finally gathered a small crowd of people. Her attention was captured by a guy in his early twenties with short black hair, soft brown eyes, wearing dark, faded jeans, a black leather jacket and holding a skateboard against his side. He had made his way from the skatepark once Claudia had started her second song and stayed until her final song, 20 minutes later. Watching as the crowd dispersed, the handsome stranger made his way towards Claudia and Abigail.

"You have a beautiful voice."

"Thanks." Claudia smiled at him as she put her bag in its case and handed Abigail the money she had earned.

"I'm Hamish." He held his hand out and she shook it.

"Claudia and this is Abigail."

"It's a pleasure to meet you both." He said confidently.

"You're sweet." Abigail said as she stepped back slightly to give them a little space.

"Honest. So do you do this often?" He asked Claudia as he took a step closer to her, Claudia instantly stepped back, slightly uncomfortable by his forwardness.

"No, we're on a scavenger hunt right now and this was one of the tasks."

"Ooh you may be able to help us with some of our other tasks actually." Abigail said as she stepped closer, ignoring the look Claudia gave her.

"Sure, what you got?"

"Are you single?" Abigail ignored the jab from Claudia's elbow in her side.

"Uh, yeah. Are you?" He asked Claudia who was blushing slightly. She nodded in reply.

"Excellent, how would you feel about going on a date with Claudia?"

"Whoa! What are you doing?" Claudia asked appalled. She did think the guy was cute but that didn't mean she was interested in him.

"Earning 30 points. So what do you say Hamish?"

"That was actually what I was going to ask you, would you like to go on a date with me Claudia?" He asked confidently. She moved towards him and kissed him on the lips much to everyone's surprise. She pulled away and looked at the picture she had just taken on her phone.

"25 points." She said to Abigail. "Sorry but I'm not interested in dating anyone currently."

"Oh, uh well can I atleast get your number?" He asked confused as he recovered from the kiss.

"I'll take yours?"

He typed his number into her phone and took his photo to assign to his name. Once completed Abigail and Claudia made their way back towards the car.

"He's cute." Abigail said quietly. She was confused by the scene that had just taken place and knew it was overly presumptuous of her to set Claudia up on a date but for Claudia to kiss him and then turn him down was perplexing.

"Yes but what I said was true, i'm not interested in dating anyone right now."

"But you kissed him?"

"Kissing someone is easier than dating them." She stated simply and walked ahead of her to the vehicle.

* * *

Pete and Helena had opted for going to a nearby shopping complex and busking near the entrance. Pete really didn't know how he was going to earn the money, he didn't play an instrument and he knew he would have better luck being paid  _not_  to sing. He thought about a strip tease but wisely decided against it after Helena informed him that there were children present.

"Why do you think Myka chose Betty instead of Wilma for your costume?"

"Well from what i've read on the internet, Wilma is his wife and Myka most likely did not want me to endure people believing that you and I were together."

"Hey!"

"Or it could simply have to do with hair colour."

"Oh and yes, we must never mess with your perfect hair." He said sarcastically as he lowered himself to lay on the ground.

"Alright H.G. start filming." She pressed record and cringed as he started doing one handed push ups.

"Pete, I don't believe we are going to make any money with you doing that. Besides i'm certain that anyone walking out of the entrance can see up your dress." She contained her laugh as he bolted to his feet.

"Well do you have any better ideas?"

"Yes, wait here."

"Where are you going?" He called after her as she walked into the shopping complex. Pete laughed as he watched a man run into a display stand after ogling Helena's costume. She returned a few minutes later holding a deck of cards.

"You can't scam people." He whispered to her.

"It's not a scam!" She said indignantly. "It is  _magic_." She searched the crowd for the right person. "Anyone care to see a magic trick?" She asked loudly causing several people to look at her and Pete. "How about you sir?" She asked a middle aged man wearing dark sunglasses who had approached them.

"What's the catch?" Helena smirked. She knew she had selected the right target.

"A bet of $5. If I fail to successfully pick your card from this unopened deck of cards I will pay you $10."

The man accepted. It was only $5 and he had a very high chance of doubling his money and even if he lost he was still about to take part in a magic trick.

Pete filmed her as she successfully performed the trick over and over. A large crowd had gathered around with more and more people challenging Helena. She selected only certain people though and after earning $40 she decided that it was enough and declared that she was done for the day.

"How did you do that?" Pete asked as they walked throughout the mall. He had watched the entire thing and was amazed everytime she guessed correctly. There was no distinguishable pattern to her performance that he could figure out and it was driving him crazy.

"Simple." She handed him the deck of cards and leaned into him lowering her voice. "I chose people wearing sunglasses and saw the reflection of the cards in their lenses."

"Ha! Awesome."

* * *

Steve and Myka couldn't decide how they were going to earn the $20 so they decided not to waste anymore time on it and moved onto task 7.

"This counts right?" Steve asked as Myka set up ten bowling pins at the end of a discount store's aisle.

"Yes, they didn't state that it had to be at a bowling alley."

"I suppose so." He walked until he was at the end of the aisle and pulled the blindfold down so it was covering his eyes. "Are you recording?"

"Yeah, go for it."

Steve bent down and rolled the plastic bowling ball down the aisle. Myka watched in anticipation as the ball approached the pins. It struck them with little force and 9 of the pins toppled over with ease, she held her breath as she watched the final pin sway back and forth before finally falling over.

"Yes!" She yelled which caused the store manager to look at her questioningly. "We'll take these."

Steve walked to her and gave her a high five. "20 points for bowling a strike blindfolded."

"You know how to juggle right?" Myka asked as she gathered the bowling set into her arms.

"Yeah why?" He asked confused.

"I think i've just figured out how we are going to complete the busking task."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm in need of 2 task ideas. The more outrageous the better. I've got potential body piercings, HG unleashed in a sex shop, Steve flirting his way out of a ticket, fun with bubblewrap, ballpits, changerooms, chaos at Walmart, marriage proposals, possibly paintball, Blow Up dolls feature heavily in one task. I'd appreciate any suggestions.


	4. Mascot Mayhem

Pete and Helena had spent the past fifteen minutes attempting to ignore the numerous jibes and catcalls that fellow shoppers had voiced at them as they traversed the mall. Pete had to restrain Helena from physically assaulting a group of men who had informed her that they could "show her a good time." He was really starting to regret showing her the two-piece suit to begin with.

After the incident they decided that they needed to leave the mall a lot sooner than planned but not before they'd completed the tasks they had set out to do there first. They had found themselves in the nearest grocery store a little while later to purchase items they needed to complete a task.

They were standing at the cash register waiting to pay for their item when a mother and her three young children approached them.

"Excuse me, may I get a picture with you and my children?" She smiled as she made eye contact with Pete.

"Absolutely!" Pete said proudly as he paid the cashier. He was ecstatic that someone was finally paying more attention to his costume than Helena's. The group posed for their photo and the mother thanked them before departing with her children.

"She was hitting on me." Pete said beaming as he and Helena made their way towards the bowling alley.

"You are delusional. She was simply being polite."

"She was totally checking out my guns." He started flexing his biceps at her but stopped as his stomach growled loudly. "Ooh looks like it's brunch time." He announced and walked towards the smell of food. He really wasn't fussed what he ate just as long as there was plenty of it and it was soon. Helena rolled her eyes and followed him. They descended the escalators into the food court and Pete had barely reached the bottom when he moved briskly towards the McDonalds.

"No freaking way!" He said excitedly as he approached a bench. "H.G. take my picture!" He sat down and placed his arm around the plastic figure of Ronald McDonald.

"What are you doing?" She looked at him bewildered. She was certain that he had reached a new height of odd and confusing behaviour.

"Task number 6 duh!"

"This is a mascot?" She pointed at the plastic clown and raised an eyebrow.

"Yes! Come on, the sooner you take the picture the sooner I can have me some greasy goodness."

* * *

"Score!" Claudia announced loudly as she parked her vehicle out the front of a bowling alley. "Two tasks for the price of one." She pointed in front of them where a man dressed as a bowling pin was handing out flyers to people on the footpath.

Claudia and Abigail vacated the vehicle and approached him.

"Good morning ladies, may I interest you in a few rounds of bowling? Three games for the price of two?" He smiled charmingly at them as he handed them each a flyer.

"Thanks." Claudia said as she glanced over the flyer. "Uh, would you mind if we got a photo with you?"

"For a couple of the Rugrats, sure."

"Dude! You are the only person to realize what our costumes are." Claudia said astounded.

"Gotta love a classic."

Claudia couldn't resist the urge to high-five him before standing next to him as Abigail took their picture.

"Thanks so much for this."

"You're welcome ladies. I hope you have fun bowling."

They entered the building and purchased a game for each of them but opted to have the bumpers on to give them a better chance at bowling a strike blindfolded. Claudia approached the lane and readied herself to bowl her first ball. She turned to Abigail to make sure that she was filming her before pulling her blindfold down and lobbing the ball down the lane. She managed to knock over seven pins.

"Not bad for a first try." Claudia said proudly as she made her way to the ball-return.

"Yes but I bet I can do better." Abigail challenged.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yes. If I can get eight or more pins then you have to do the tenth task?" Abigail said confidently as she watched Claudia bowl for a spare.

"Oh you are  _so_  on!" Claudia shook her hand and watched Abigail pick up her ball. She  _really_  didn't want to have to do their tenth task but knew that it was by far a less tamer task than the ones that would most likely appear in the remaining 10 tasks.

Abigail took two steps towards the pins, pulled the blindfold down and bowled the ball. She quickly pulled it off to watch her progress. "Yes!" She yelled loudly, fist pumping the air.

"Frak!" Claudia gulped as she stared at the end of the lane.

"That's this task complete." Abigail smiled proudly as she took her seat across from Claudia

"You hustled me didn't you?" She wanted to be annoyed at her but she was too impressed to be.

"Yes."

With their task completed and having made excellent time before the final ten tasks would be released at 1pm, they opted for taking the time to enjoy themselves as they finished their game blindfold free. Although Claudia had guaranteed that she would be completing the tenth task, she was actually enjoying being partnered with Abigail. She was seeing an entirely new side to her, one that she was leaning, she liked.

* * *

Myka was seated in the driver's seat of her SUV researching locations while Steve held an icy bottle of water against his right temple in the passenger seat. He had been juggling the bowling pins for their busking task when a kid had gotten too excited and jumped on him causing him to lose focus. It had been momentary but it was enough to throw him off his routine, resulting in a pin hitting him in the head. For plastic they were surprisingly heavy.

"I am now convinced that kids are evil." Steve groaned as he removed the bottle and looked at his reflection in the mirror. It was slightly swollen and bright red.

"Well then you are about to hate me too." Myka said as she put her phone in its holder and started the vehicle.

"Why?"

"Because we are going to a peewee baseball game to hopefully find a mascot."

"Don't bookstores have bookworms as kind of an unofficial mascot?"

"Keyword, unofficial."

* * *

They had arrived at a sporting field ten minutes later and were relieved to see that there were two mascots. They decided to try the closest one to them which was a man dressed as a filthy pirate. He was standing to the side of the bleaches as Steve and Myka approached.

"Hey man, do you mind if we get a picture with you?" Steve asked nicely.

"She can." He said to Myka and smiled a toothless grin. Myka returned the smile nervously, she was unsure if the teeth were fake. The man was creepy but she wasn't sure if it was intended to be because of the costume or if it was just how he always was. She reluctantly stepped closer to him and was hit with the overwhelming stench of alcohol. She tried not to recoil and silently prayed that this would be finished in seconds. The man stepped next to Myka and placed his arm around her waist to pull her closer. "What you doing later love?" He smiled as he sniffed her and grabbed her asscheek. Myka instantly grabbed his hand, forcing it behind his back as she swept his legs out from beneath him, causing him to land on his knee. She twisted his arm causing him to yell out in pain.

"You disgusting pig! You should be grateful I don't break your nose."

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." He kept repeating over and over causing a large number of people to look at them. Steve stepped forward intending to intervene before Myka followed through with her threat.

"Steve take the picture please!" Steve quickly captured the picture and as soon as he did Myka released the man. He cradled his arm and attempted to stand.

"You bitch!" He yelled as he lunged for Myka's back. She turned quickly and acting on instinct, thrusted her hand into his face, breaking his nose. He screamed loudly. Myka leaned over him and spoke quietly.

"You should never mess with a Secret Service Agent." She resisted laughing at the panicked look that filled his eyes. "Let's go Steve."

They made their way through the crowd of people and headed back to where they had parked.

"Holy crap you have quick reflexes." Steve said after finally recovering from the shock of the incident. He knew that Myka could handle herself but he rarely got to see her in her element.

"Thanks, I think."

"Hey, don't feel bad about that. He was going to attack you and you defended yourself." He said trying to reassure her.

"I guess so."

"So where to next?" Steve asked as they approached the SUV.

"I could  _really_  do with a shower to wash his filth off of me." Steve laughed as he watched Myka shudder.

"Will task ten do?"

"Nice try but  _you_  can do that one." She cracked a smidgen of a smile at him.


	5. That's a Wrap

After Pete had ingested a vast amount of food, he and Helena continued to make their way towards the mall’s bowling alley. On the way Pete had spotted a toy store and dragged Helena inside. Helena followed Pete as he searched for a mysterious item.

“He shoots, he scores.” He grinned as he stood in front of a bright pink, child’s size quad-bike.

“What are we doing here Pete?” Helena asked confused as she looked at the toy.

“We are going to wrap this vehicle in bubble-wrap!”

“O-kay, but why?” She said still unsure of what this had to do with their current tasks.

“Task 8, completely wrap a vehicle in either foil, cling wrap of bubble-wrap?”

“I believe we are meant to wrap a much larger vehicle than this.” She held out the bag filled with rolls of bubble-wrap that they had purchased earlier and inspected one of them.

“No, this qualifies and I don’t know about you but I would much rather cover this than risk being caught by the owner of a vehicle.” He said as he grabbed the roll from her and started to unravel it.

“We are in the middle of a crowded store. We’d have better luck doing this in the parking lot.”

“Look if anyone approaches us, we’ll just tell them that we are wrapping it before we purchase it. Trust me, this will be a piece of cake.”

Helena rolled her eyes at him. She was convinced that he could turn any conversation into a reference to food. She scanned the store to make sure that they were not being watched before helping him cover the bike.

“Isn’t this marvelous?” Helena laughed as she popped a few bubbles a minute later.

“Hey, stop fulfilling an urge we all have when it comes to bubble wrap and help me finish this.”

“It is finished.” Pete looked at the bike and noticed that she was correct, the small bike was now completely covered in the bubble-wrap.

“Oh, well let’s get that picture and leave before we get spotted.” He said as he stood.

“Must we leave? We still have two rolls remaining. Can we cover something else?” She asked excitedly.

“No, we really need to get out of here.” He tried to get her to move towards the exit but she remained in the same place.

She smiled mischievously before turning to Pete. “It would be such a shame to let this go to waste.”

He took a step away from her and bumped into a shelf. “Don’t even think about it.”

“Do relax. It would be counterproductive for me to wrap  _you_  in this. However if the opportunity presents itself for us to use these remaining rolls on say an opposing team, I cannot guarantee that I will restrain myself.”

“Was that your fancy way of saying that you are going to wrap Myka in it?”

“Precisely.” She smirked as she walked away from him.

“Count me in.” He started following her and spotted an employee to their right walking towards them. “We’ve been made. Leg it.” He whispered as he rushed ahead of her.

* * *

Claudia turned her Prius into an alley and parked in front of a large black motorcycle. They stepped out of the vehicle after determining that the alley was empty and approached the bike.

“So how do you want to do this?” Claudia asked as she pulled the tin foil out of her trunk.

“What do you mean?” Abigail asked confused as she continued to keep watch over the alley.

“Well it’ll be quicker if one of us wraps whilst the other tears sheets. So which do you want?”

“I’ll tear the sheets.”

They made quick work of covering the bike while still keeping an eye out for anyone approaching the alley. They really didn’t want to have to explain what they were doing to the bike’s owner. Claudia was covering up any gaps when she heard a loud metallic bang a few yards away. She jumped up quickly and whacked her head on the handlebars.

“Crap!” She held her head and sprinted towards the driver’s door leaving Abigail behind. She had climbed in the car and started the engine when Abigail approached her side laughing.

“Everything’s fine. It was just a cat.” She pointed to the source of the bang where a large ginger cat was seated looking at them inquisitively.

“A cat?” Claudia glared at it as she stepped out of the car, leaving the engine running.

“Yes.” Abigail continued to laugh as she and Claudia made their way back to the bike. “I didn’t realise you were so afraid of a cute little kitty.” She crouched beside the cat and gave it a pat.

“I thought it was a person. Stupid Garfield imitation.” She said to the cat and jumped again as it growled at her. “Now I get why H.G. doesn’t like cats.”

She finished covering the last gap and stepped back to look at her creation. “I think we are done.” She said as she took the picture. “We gotta go.” She said quickly and dashed for the car again.

Abigail looked at the direction Claudia had previously been watching and noticed that a man was standing outside a door talking to someone at the other end of the alley. She quickly made her way to the car and shut the door and attempted to secure her seatbelt as Claudia sped off out of the alley.

* * *

For their wrapping challenge, Steve and Myka had opted to attempt it in a quieter area with less chance of being caught. They found a suburban cul-de-sac not far from the local aquatic centre and made quick work of covering Myka’s SUV in cling-wrap. They had been fortunate to find a large roll of industrial pallet wrapping at a hardware store earlier in the day.

“It needs a little more around the back.” Myka said as she stood behind her vehicle looking for any spots they may have missed. Steve held the roll in his hand as he approached her.

“The front is done, this looks to be the last spot.” He held the roll out so Myka could grab hold of its ends as he unravelled it. They covered the last patch and were about to celebrate with a high-five when a handsome male officer stepped out of his police cruiser behind them.

“It’s alright Myka, i’ll handle this.”

“You sure?” Steve took a good look at the officer; he had short black hair, a chiselled jaw, was well built with soft brown eyes and a warm smile. Steve returned the smile and looked back at Myka.

“Oh yeah, i’ve got this.” Myka watched as Steve confidently approached the officer.

“Good afternoon Officer..?” Steve held out his hand for the officer to shake.

“Camden.” He said as he shook the hand.

“I’m Steve. What can I help you with Officer Camden?”

“Nice to meet you Steve. Care to explain what’s going on here?” He pointed towards the vehicle which Myka was leaning against, holding her phone.

“My friend and I wanted to see what her vehicle would look like covered in plastic and well as you can see it looks kinda hilarious.”

“That it does. So this is your friend’s vehicle?” He gave Myka a questioning look.

“Yeah this belongs to Daphne.” He said earning himself a laugh from the officer. Steve wasn’t sure what it was about this officer but he felt an instant connection the moment he had looked at him. He was relieved that the situation was going well so far.

Several minutes later after it had been confirmed that the vehicle was indeed Myka’s and that no crime had been committed, the officer smiled one last time before driving away.

Myka approached a stunned Steve who still couldn’t believe the way the situation had played out. After the officer had run their details and learned that they were both federal agents, he and Steve got chatting, well flirting was more accurate. Officer Camden really wanted to continue the discussion with Steve but he had work to do. Before leaving though, he gave Steve his phone number and told him to contact him so they could continue their discussion when neither of them were working.

“I can’t believe that just happened.” Myka said as she stood next to Steve.

“Neither can I.” He said quietly as he looked at the number that had just been entered into his phone.

“How did you do that?” She asked amazed.

“I honestly have no idea. I only planned to explain the situation but somehow i’ve ended up with a date I think.”

“With a hot officer.” Myka pointed out.

“Uh yeah.” He said still trying to comprehend the situation.

“Come on Casanova, help me unwrap this thing.” Myka laughed as she pulled the last sheet of cling wrap off the back of the vehicle.

 


	6. Bonding over Bowling Balls

After many interruptions, Pete and Helena finally made their way to the bowling alley where a large number of people were presently making use of the arcade games and lanes. Pete spotted a very attractive woman working behind the counter and promptly made his way towards her. Once Helena had received her shoes, Pete informed her that he would meet her at their lane. A few short minutes later, Pete begrudgingly made his way over to where Helena was seated putting on her bowling shoes. He had failed for the third time that day to secure the phone number of a woman he had been flirting with.

“Not a word.” He said to Helena as he watched her open her mouth. She nodded and resigned herself to her trademark smirk. Once he’d tied his laces he sat upright and look at her seriously. “Is it the costume? Because I  _know_  she was flirting with me!”

“I am sure it is the costume.” She said failing to keep the amusement out of her voice.

“Hey! I don’t see you trying to earn those points!” He said annoyed as he stood to collect his ball. “Which now that I think about it, is very strange. You are a  _huge_  flirt!”

“I am not.” She said insulted by the implication.

“You are with Myka.”

“Well that is different and Myka initiates the flirting just as much as I do.” She said and watched as the realisation of the statement hit Pete.

Since Helena had reappeared in their lives those many months ago after returning the astrolabe, he’d noticed the positive effect it had had on Myka. Myka had spent many months trying to hide her distress over Helena’s disappearance but the instant that Myka and Helena looked each other in the eye for the first time since returning, Pete felt an incredible vibe wash over him. One that he had assumed at the time was Myka’s relief and happiness but now he knew that it was something far greater. It was the combination of Myka and Helena’s feelings for each other. Real, unimaginable, overwhelming  _love_.

“You love Myka!” He dropped the ball and stepped closer to her. Helena took a deep breath before looking Pete directly in the eye. She was surprised by the amount of warmth that was present in them and found them to be reassuring. Pete was a huge part of Myka’s life and she knew she would eventually have to have this talk with him. She decided to be honest with him and hope that he would be honest with her in return.

“Yes, with everything I am.” She said smiling. It was the first time she had admitted it out loud. Watching as a smile took the place of the stunned expression on his face, a huge sense of relief washed over her.

“I guess i’ve kinda always known it just, it makes  _so_  much sense now, the looks, the touches, the cute playful flirting, it’s all been foreplay which is  _gross,_  but adorable now that I think about it. Not that i’m thinking about it, you know, you and her together like that. Are you together?” He asked as he tried to stop himself from babbling on anymore.

“No Pete, we are not.” She said sadly as she ran her hand through her hair.

“Why the hell not?” He asked defiantly.

“You’re serious?” She asked astonished. She had expected a reaction from Pete but nothing like this. A huge part of her had expected him to dislike the idea of her loving Myka, maybe even telling her that she had no right to even think of Myka in that way after everything she had put her through. An even larger part of her knew that Pete truly had forgiven her for everything she had done but it wasn’t until that moment that she knew for certain that he cared for her deeply.

“Yes! You love her and it is suddenly  _painfully_  obvious that she feels the same way about you, so why is it that the two of you are not together?”

“I was uncertain until very recently, that Myka shared my feelings. I thought that maybe I had been reading too much into those looks and touches as you say. But three nights ago while we were in Detroit to retrieve the artifact that caused people to act on their deepest desires, Myka fell under the its influence and almost kissed me.”

“Almost?” He raised an eyebrow at her and smiled. He was impressed that Myka had been so bold, even if it was because of an artifact.

“Yes, you snagged it at the precise moment that she had gently pushed me against a wall and was a breath away from kissing me.”

“Oh wow! Sorry?” He offered sympathetically.

“Actually I should be thanking you. I’d regret if our first kiss was in any way influenced by an artifact and especially one that would cause Myka to forget the moment.”

Pete pondered over all of the new information. He was pleasantly surprised that Helena had shared the truth with him, that she trusted him enough to open up to him as he knew just how much of a private person she could be. “So since you know now how she feels, why haven’t you made a move?”

“I have, I believe we are going on a date.” Helena smiled thinking about the huge leap she had taken. She was so busy thinking about what it could possibly entail that she did not notice that Pete had moved to stand directly in front of her. He pulled her to her feet and wrapped her in a tight hug. Helena was overwhelmed by the embrace. He pulled back from the hug and looked at her seriously. “Just promise me that you will not hurt her again?”

“You have my word.”

“Good. Good. So where are you going on your date?” He said trying to break the intensity of the moment.

“I don’t actually know..... why are you being so nice about this, after everything that I have put all of you through?”

“That was all in the past and that is not the person you are now. The person you are now is the one that makes Myka happier than i’ve ever seen her and as long as you continue to do so, you will have my love and support. After all, we are family and family has each other’s backs. No matter what.”

Helena pulled him against her again and conveyed her gratitude in the hug. “Thank you Pete.” She said as her voice cracked. “To hear you say that means more to me than you will ever know.”

“You’re welcome Helena.”

They both tried to subtly wipe away a tear as they pulled away from the embrace.

“Come on, we have a task to do and while we attempt it we can come up with some ideas for a date she will never forget.” Pete said as he picked up the bowling ball again and tried to move past the moment.

* * *

After Pete had successfully managed to bowl the strike blindfolded, Helena offered to return the shoes to save Pete any further embarrassment of dealing with the woman who had rejected his advances. He sat near the entrance and waited until she approached a few minutes later, smiling at him broadly.

“What are you so happy about?”

“Consider this my way of saying thank you for your kindness.” She handed him a slip of paper. He looked at it and noticed a name and phone number and looked at Helena confused.

“What is this?”

“That is the phone number of the woman behind the counter. She said it  _was_  the costume and after I assured her how great of a person you are, she has agreed to go on a date with you.”

“H.G, I... thank you.” He said sincerely. He looked at the counter and smiled at the woman, she gave him a small wave before attending to a customer.

“You’re welcome Pete.”

* * *

Claudia and Abigail found a clothing store that was located very close to a police station so they could attempt to flirt their way out of a ticket. They were seated across the road from the store and were going over the plan one last time to ensure that nothing would go wrong. The plan was simple but illegal.

“If this goes wrong I will tell Mrs Frederic that I had no choice.” Abigail whispered to Claudia who was hunched over her computer looking for any blind spots on the stores cameras.

“Well you kinda don’t since I have to do the next task.”

“I will trade you.” She begged.

“Nope. You had your chance. Now go in there and if you should fail you should atleast make sure you look good for your mugshot.” Claudia teased and was met with a heated glare from Abigail. She really hoped the plan would work because she was not looking forward to what would be worse than that glare.

Abigail made her way deep into the store to the blind spot and acted as though she was interested in their clothing when Claudia made her way towards her holding a scarf. Abigail turned her back away from her as Claudia secured the scarf to her lower back with a strip of Velcro she had liberated from a shelf. With the scarf secured, Claudia left the store, sat on a nearby bench and opened her laptop so it was facing the doorway.

Abigail remained in the store until she received a text message from Claudia informing her that there was a male officer very close to the entrance. She put her phone away and took a long breath before making her way to the exit. As she passed through the doorway she signalled the alarm code and was immediately stopped by the man.

Claudia watched the entire scene on her laptop and was amazed how at ease Abigail seemed. She was a natural at reading people and had easily managed to convince the officer that it was all a mistake. He let her go a minute later.

“So how’d it go?” Claudia asked when Abigail approached her.

“Surprisingly easy actually.” She smiled, relieved that it was all over.

“Did you get his number?”

“He was wearing a wedding ring so I didn’t try.”

“Well you still have plenty of time to earn someone’s number.”

“Speaking of time, I think it’s time for you to take a dip.” She laughed as Claudia groaned and closed her computer.

* * *

Pete and Helena were both glad to be leaving the mall. Pete entered the driver’s seat and several minutes later they were on the highway on their way to task ten when Helena noticed that they were travelling at a rather excessive speed.

“I know we are lacking in time but is it really necessary for us to be exceeding the speed limit?”

“I’m sorry, i’m doing less than 10 miles over in the hopes of completing the  _get out of a ticket_  task.”

“You’re intentionally trying to get a ticket?” Helena asked stunned.

“Yes and it looks like we’re in luck.” He said as he looked in the rearview mirror where the flashing blue and red lights were reflected.

He pulled over to the side of the road, wound the window down and waited for the officer to step out of the vehicle behind them. “Please let it be a woman.” He mumbled over and over as he looked in the mirror. He sighed loudly as a male officer stepped out and made his way towards them. Helena let out a hearty laugh as she readied herself to record the exchange.

“Good afternoon sir?” He looked at Pete’s and Helena’s outfits and raised his eyebrows. “Do you know why I stopped you today?” He asked as he returned his attention to Pete.

Pete was determined to have the week off and was not about to let the opportunity go. He didn’t care that the officer was a guy or that he may have been straight, he  _really_  wanted these points and if all worked out he could brag to Steve that guys  _were_  into him. “Good afternoon officer.. Camden.” He smiled as he read his name tag. “Is my brake-light out or something?” He asked innocently as he continued to smile at him.

“No sir, you were actually doing 8 miles over the limit. Was there any reason why you felt you needed to exceed the speed limit?”

“I apologise for that, my friend and I are on our way to a children’s birthday party. We’re the entertainment and we are actually running late as I had to change a tyre.” Pete lied as he leaned out the window slightly.

“That does not excuse you for speeding.”

“Wow, you have such soulful eyes.” Pete said hoping he was being charming. The officer instantly blushed and Pete ignored the laugh that had escaped Helena.

“Uh thank you.” He said as he tried to recover from the compliment.

“And wow, they are some pretty impressive biceps; I bet you could bench me?” He hadn’t intended the innuendo but it was out there now and he couldn’t take it back. The officer was becoming increasingly uncomfortable and decided that he wanted the exchange over quicker.

“You know what, you’re clearly having a tough day and I don’t want to keep you from those kids any longer. Just stick to the speed limits and have a nice day.” Pete watched the officer leave before pulling back onto the road.

“I told you that guys want this.” He waved a hand over himself.

“No, I believe that he was embarrassed and wanted desperately to evade you.”

“Yeah right, he was checking me out.” Pete smiled.

“I think he was too busy trying to recompose himself from your  _flattery_  to have a chance to ‘check you out’” She playfully chided.

“Whatever.” He shook his head and focused on the road. “Either way I just earned us 40 points for that. We are definitely getting the week off!”


	7. Splash Phrase

"I can do this one." Steve said to Myka as they walked along the busy community pool towards the diving platform.

"No, it makes more sense for me to do this. You're wearing jeans and i'll dry quicker." Myka said hoping her voice didn't show any of the fear she was feeling. She was really not looking forward to doing the current task but knew that it would be easier in the long run if she was the one to do it.

"I have a pair of shorts I can change into." He said in the hopes of changing her mind.

"But that would make us ineligible for the costume points and before you say it, I have no intentions of cheating for these tasks."

"I wasn't going to say it." He laughed as Myka raised an eyebrow challengingly at him. "Ok, maybe I was. I really don't mind doing this one though."

"It's fine, you've completed more tasks than me so it is only fair that I do this one." She reasoned as she stood at the end of the long line of children who were waiting to use the highest diving board. "Just please remind me to get Pete back for suggesting this task."

"Making him walk around as a caveman wasn't punishment enough?" Steve laughed as he stood beside her.

"Not even close."

* * *

They continued to stand in line for several minutes as they waited anxiously for the children to jump from the fifteen foot platform. "Please make sure you film this because I am not doing this again." Myka said to Steve as she climbed the ladder. Once she reached the top she looked around at the crowded area. Being a Saturday afternoon in summer, the place was packed with families.

Myka walked to the edge of the board to make sure there was no one below before looking to Steve who was standing to the side of the pool with his phone in his hand and a wide grin on his face. She groaned as she took a deep breath and yelled loudly, "Scooby Doo, where are you?!" before jumping off of the board into the water below. The yell was so loud that the place was momentarily silent as majority of the patrons looked at Myka as she took the plunge from the platform.

Steve stood near a ladder holding a towel for Myka as she quickly swam towards him, desperately trying to avoid eye contact with anyone but him.

"Thanks." She said quietly as she grabbed the towel and briskly walked towards the exit ignoring the whispers and whistles of nearby people.

"That wasn't so bad." Steve said as he caught up to her at the exit.

"For you, this costume is clinging to me far too tightly." She said as she tried to pull it down to her knees unsuccessfully.

"Oh, I don't know. I'm positive that a certain British Agent will find it incredibly appealing when we meet up with her in fifteen minutes." He teased and couldn't contain his laughter at Myka's instant blush. "Come on, i'm sure you'll be dry by then." He said and led her towards their vehicle.

Once they approached the vehicle Myka began to dry herself thoroughly. She was relieved that her costume was almost dry but sighed loudly as she tried to dry her hair. "I really should have gone with the wig earlier. This hair without conditioner is horrendous."

"Yeah, it almost resembles a monster from Scooby Doo." Steve playfully added which made Myka smile for the first time since pulling into the parking lot. He watched as the smile grew larger. "Okay, it really wasn't that funny."

"No I was just thinking about Pete doing this task."

They both laughed and climbed into the vehicle.

* * *

Claudia and Abigail had been fortunate enough in their last task to be rather close to the indoor aquatic centre that many of the cities swimming protégés used for training. As they entered the pool area they were pleased to discover that the place was practically deserted. Aside from a dozen or so members of a swim team and a couple of coaches, there were only a small handful of other patrons including two people that they were pleasantly surprised to see.

Pete and Helena were arguing over who was going to do the challenge and were unaware of Abigail and Claudia standing behind them.

"Come on H.G, do it please?" Pete begged.

"This was your idea."

"She has a point Pete." Claudia said causing them to jump from the surprise.

"Hey guys!" Pete said enthusiastically as he turned around to greet them. "Looking good ladies."

"You're not looking so bad yourself Pete." Abigail said as she looked over his costume.

"Whoa! That is  _not_  how I remember Betty Rubble."Claudia said astounded as she took in Helena's costume. "I bet you've been getting gawked at all day?"

"Like you are currently doing? Yes." She smirked as she watched Claudia quickly avert her eyes from Helena's legs to look at Pete. "I take it you are here for the tenth task also?"

"Yes, Claudia has offered to do it." Abigail said smiling.

"I lost a bet." She answered quickly at their questioning looks. "So which one of you is walking the plank?"

"Pete has graciously accepted to do it." Helena said mischievously.

"I have not." He said defensively.

"I secured you a date." She reasoned.

"I just flirted my way out of a speeding ticket, with a  _MALE_  officer." He counted.

"Say what?!" Claudia said as her eyebrows rose quickly and she looked at Pete amazed.

"Flirt is an exaggeration. His attempt at flattery stunned the poor officer and he desperately wanted to evade the situation so he let him off with a warning before scurrying away."

"That does sound more likely." Claudia said as she pictured it.

"See for yourself." Pete handed her the phone defensively.

"While she watches your flattery attempts, get up there and yell your catch phrase. After all, it was you who suggested this task." Helena stated.

"Yeah, that was before Myka chose this costume for me. I thought maybe she'd choose Superman or some other superhero. Not  _this_." He whined as he waved his hand over his costume.

"She makes a good point Pete, this was your idea." Abigail said and Claudia nodded as she continued to watch the video.

"What is this, three against one?"

"You aren't getting any sympathy out of me, I have to do this too." Claudia said without looking away from the phone.

"If I do this then I get to choose any task for you to do in the second list?"

He watched as Helena considered it. She looked at the three levels of platforms and then back to him. What could possibly be worse than this? "Deal, so long as you go for the maximum points and jump from the top platform?" She said and held out her hand for him to shake.

"Here's hoping that the public lap-dance made it." He said cheekily as he shook it and headed for the base of the platforms.

* * *

Abigail and Helena sat in the bleachers and watched as Claudia and Pete ascended the ladders. They had made it to the second platform which was 25 feet high when Claudia's knees started shaking uncontrollably.

"You alright Claude?" Pete asked concerned as he stopped his ascend of the final ladder and approached her.

"Uh yeah, maybe now would be a good time to mention that i'm not the best when it comes to heights?" She said quietly as she clung to the rail.

"You jumped across a rooftop to catch a guy?" Pete asked confused.

"That took  _alot_  of adrenaline though."

"Hey, you can climb back down if you want." He offered hoping to relieve some of her fear.

"No, i'm here now. But i'm not going up to the last level." She stated defiantly as she slowly let go of the rail and peered over the edge of the platform. "Holy crap that's high!" She squealed as she recoiled from the edge and yanked onto Pete.

"Hey, hey, it's alright. I have you. We'll climb back down together."

"No! I'm gonna do this." She stated and tentatively released her hold on him.

"Okay, but if you change your mind I'll be right here." He said reassuringly as he stepped closer to her for support.

"Thanks Pete." She said sincerely as she took a deep breath and prepared herself to jump. He stood back and watched in amusement as she yelled "CYNTHIA!" and leapt off the platform.

* * *

Pete climbed to the final platform of 33 feet, walked to the edge, tentatively peaked over it and gulped. "That's a very long way down." He said to himself quietly as he surveyed the area below to make sure that there wasn't anyone swimming nearby. After concluding that it was safe to jump he began to psyche himself up. "Come on Lattimer, let's give the folks a show."

"What is he doing?" Abigail asked Claudia and Helena as they watched bemused as Pete performed starjumps on the highest platform before strutting along it like it was a catwalk.

"Is he moonwalking?" Claudia asked laughing as he approached the platforms edge and moonwalked away from it.

"I think he is." Abigail agreed and the three of them, along with the swim team, laughed at his antics.

"Alright Pete, you've got this." He said to himself as he stood away from the edge and yelled, "Yabba Dabba Doo!" then ran and jumped off the board as he punched his fist into the air above his head. His legs were kicking wildly as he fell through the air before landing hard on the still water below. A chorus of "Ooohs" was heard throughout the room. Pete emerged from the water a minute later with a pained look on his face as he clutched his groin.

"You alright Pete?" Claudia asked concerned.

"I think I may have pulled a muscle as I landed." He said as he limped towards them, dripping heavily.

"Oh, which one?" Helena asked feigning innocence.

"None of the boys, so you three can get your heads out of the gutter." He pointed to them as they tried to hide their amusement. "Just one in my groin."

"I  _wasn't_  thinking dirty but I am now. You two are corrupting me." Claudia said as she shook her head and made her way towards the exit with Abigail following close behind.

"It was a valiant effort Pete; it scored us 25 points and an additional 33 points for the extra height. So thank you." Helena said sincerely as she followed after Abigail and Claudia.

"Can we stop and get some ice please?" He asked as he limped behind them desperately hoping the pain would subside.

 


	8. Reunion

"Would you quit it already? You aren't going to be able to tame that thing any time soon." Steve sighed from the driver's seat as he watched Myka attempt to tame her tangled mess of damp curls.

"It's worth a try." She said as she ran her fingers through her hair again before resigning her efforts and flopping back against the passenger seat.

After several minutes of silence Steve observed Myka as they stopped at a red-light, she was biting her lower lip and tapping her fingers against the armrest rapidly. "What?" She asked cautiously.

"Are you nervous to see H.G?" He smirked at her.

"Anxiously excited might be more accurate."

"Are you going to kiss her when we get there?" He teased causing her to roll her eyes at him.

"I almost kissed her when we were in Detroit." Myka quietly admitted. She had spent all morning focusing on the tasks they were trying to accomplish and hadn't really taken the time to think about Helena's offer to assist with the kissing task. Now that she didn't have a task to focus on and knowing that they were on their way to see Helena, it was all that Myka could think about.

"Almost?" He asked intrigued.

"I was under the influence of the money clip."

"The one that makes you act on your deepest desires?" Myka nodded. Steve grinned as he put the vehicle into drive. "What happened to stop you from following through?"

"Pete bagged it at the precise moment I had leaned in to kiss her." Myka waved her hands infront of her, clearly frustrated by what had happened.

"What did H.G. say?"

"I told her and Pete that I had no recollection of my actions, which is a lie. I was fully aware of exactly what I was doing, the artefact just allowed me to follow through on my desires."

"Why'd you lie to them?"

"I was terrified of having to explain why I wanted to kiss Helena. Until this morning I was convinced she was only interested in my friendship. I didn't want to ruin our friendship by stating how i've wanted to kiss her for a long time."

"Yeah I can see why that would be awkward." He laughed. "So, are you going to kiss her when we see her?"

"I honestly don't know. Now that I don't have a task to focus on I can't stop thinking about it." She sighed loudly as she pinched the bridge of her nose and tried to focus on the traffic in front of them, anything to stop her from thinking about Helena.

"What, about how soft and luscious her lips are and what it would feel like to have her tongue playfully stroke along your lips?" He teased and laughed as a deep blush spread from her cheeks to her ears.

"Stop it." She laughed resisting punching his arm only because they were driving. "I'm starting to think you may be worse than Pete."

"Take that back."

"Great! Now I can't stop thinking about her  _luscious_  lips." She groaned her frustration and subconsciously bit her bottom lip.

"You really have it bad for her?" He hadn't been oblivious to what they had between them but he hadn't realised just how great Myka's feelings for Helena were. Helena's interest in Myka had been incredibly obvious in comparison. He had noticed the first time he'd met her just how drawn she was to Myka but he assumed the feelings were one sided until more recently when it became clear that Helena wasn't the only one gazing longingly at the other. After Myka's confession it was obvious that she was overwhelmingly in love with Helena and had been for a very long time.

Myka refrained from answering his question, instead she threw her head back against the headrest and silently prayed that the car ride would come to an end quickly, she really needed a distraction from her current thoughts.

* * *

"I can't believe we didn't think to wrap a kid's vehicle. That was genius." Claudia exclaimed as she and Abigail sat together at a table in the park, listening to Helena's tale of how they accomplished the wrapping task.

"Oh yeah. You hear that H.G, genius!" Pete pointed to her as he lay on the bench on the opposite side of the table holding an ice pack against his groin.

"I don't know if such high praise is worthy but it was an excellent idea." Helena said as she stood behind Pete anxiously awaiting Myka's arrival.

"Tell them how you hustled people for the busking task."

"I did no such thing." Helena said cheerfully as she feigned her innocence.

* * *

As Steve and Myka made their way along the footpath towards the location that they'd been given for the meet, Myka recognised the heavenly sound of Helena's laugh and it sent a warm shiver throughout her body. She fought her nerves and continued walking towards the sound. As they entered the clearing of trees Myka's heart skipped a beat as her eyes fell on the figure only yards in front of her.

Pete was the first to notice their arrival as he looked past Helena from his position on the bench and grinned wildly at the lustful look Myka was currently wearing. He watched her eyes slowly travel over Helena's body, completely oblivious that anyone else was present in the moment. It was undeniable in that moment that Myka had feelings other than friendship for Helena. With that confirmation Pete decided he didn't want to spoil the moment so he allowed for Myka to indulge a little longer.

"Jinksy! Myka!" Claudia exclaimed loudly.

Helena turned around quickly and was awestruck by the sight that greeted her. Since receiving the text from Myka confirming their date, Helena had spent copious amounts of time throughout the morning picturing just how Myka would look in person wearing her costume but none of the images that her brilliant mind had concocted had come close to the wonder and beauty that stood before her now. Her heart beat rapidly as her eyes slowly travelled from Myka's toned legs, over her deliciously tight purple dress before landing on her eyes at the same moment Myka had finished her examination of her costume. As she stared into Myka's eyes she felt a shiver spread done her spine at the lustful look that greeted her in the green pools. For the first time in a long time, Helena was at a loss for words.

"Hey guys, how's everyone's mornings been?" Steve asked cheerily as he stepped closer to the table snapping Myka and Helena out of their moment.

"Amazing!" Claudia stated cheerfully.

"Yes, H.G. was just telling us how she hustled her way through the busking task." Abigail said bringing them back to the topic they were previously discussing.

"You hustled people?" Myka asked amused as she found her voice.

"Hustled is their word, I assure you it was but a simple magic trick." Helena smiled mischievously and Myka's heart melted a little at the familiar look she loved so much.

"You chose people with glasses so you could see the reflection of the cards in their lenses." Pete corrected as he slowly sat up to allow Steve to sit beside him.

"You believed it to be magic until I revealed how I was doing it and besides there wasn't a rule stating that we could not hustle people for the busking challenge." Helena said defensively but the amusement was still present in her voice as she glanced momentarily at Myka who had moved to sit beside Abigail, opposite Pete.

"Speaking of challenges, where is everyone at for points?" Steve asked.

"Jinksy!" Pete exclaimed excitedly as he pulled him into a sideways hug. "I told you that guys want a piece of this." He pointed at himself.

"I never said they didn't." Steve said confused as he looked around for an answer to the sudden outburst.

"Pete flirted with a male cop." Abigail provided. Steve instantly felt Myka's eyes land on him and he anxiously awaited for her to reveal that Steve had scored the number of a male officer. He was relieved when she didn't say anything instead turning her attention to Pete.

"I need proof."

"Oh yeah, i've got game." Pete sung as he danced a little in his seat and handed her his phone. "Second last video on there."

Myka searched the phone trying to ignore Pete's victory dance. As she pressed play and observed the footage she couldn't contain the huge grin that formed as she recognised the officer. Pete interpreted it as a sign of victory and raised his hand across the table for her to high five.

"He is hot too." Myka laughed as she slapped his hand. "Did you get his number?" She teased.

"No but I did get the number of a gorgeous woman who works at a bowling alley." He said incredibly pleased.

"H.G. got that number for you." Abigail corrected.

"Really?" Steve asked before Myka had the chance to.

"Yes, I simply informed the woman that once you got past the costume there was a very decent man underneath."

"Wow! What did Pete do to deserve such praise?" Steve asked surprised.

"As i've been informed, we are family and family take care of each other. It was my pleasure to speak such truth."

"That was incredibly kind of you Helena." Myka smiled as she met Helena's eyes again. Hearing such sweetness expressed for Pete filled Myka with joy. After everything that Pete and Helena had been through it was a true testament of just how far they both have come.

"I always knew you had a soft spot for me." Pete said as he pattered her shoulder. "Even if you can be a little scary at times." He was met with her familiar glare. "Yes, just like that." He said causing everyone to laugh.

* * *

"So we've tallied up the points and in the lead on 268 points is Team Bedrock, 250 points for Team Scooby and trailing in last place on 225 points is Team Rugrats." Steve said reading over the tally sheet.

"It's still anyone's game, we'll gain those points in the second half." Claudia said confidently as she opened her laptop. "So we ready for the next ten?"

"Bring it on." Pete said enthusiastically.

They all stood behind Claudia and watched with anticipation as she ran the program to select the final ten tasks, the final five of which would have to be completed with everyone together. It took seconds for the program to complete and display the results on the screen.

"Yes! The drive-thru task made it." Pete cheered as he fist pumped the air.

"Paintball! We are so going to own in that!" Steve said enthusiastically to Myka.

"Oh my god, we are going to get arrested for sure by the end of the day." Myka said.

"Not in that outfit you won't be." Claudia stated as she went to work emailing everyone the list.

While the others continued to discuss the list, Helena decided to take advantage of the opportunity and discretely made her way next to Myka. "Will you be wearing this outfit on our date?" She whispered in Myka's ear. The warm breath and having Helena so close sent a shiver through her entire body.

"I asked you first." She said so quiet only Helena heard as she resisted the incredibly strong urge to turn into Helena and kiss her passionately.

"Okay, so i've just emailed the list to you all and we're all agreed that we meet back here at 4?" Claudia said as she stepped out from the table, gathering her laptop and accidentally bumping into Helena. "Sorry H.G." Helena simply nodded in response and stepped away to allow her to pass.

"Yeah and we'll go from there." Pete agreed as he slowly stood from the table.

"Good luck everyone and prepare to bow down to Team Rugrats." Claudia laughed as she waved goodbye and headed towards the direction that she had parked. As she and Abigail walked away laughing and exchanging their idea Steve smiled at the positive change the day was having on their friendship.

"So where'd you park?" Pete asked Steve trying to ignore the looks that Myka and Helena were exchanging.

"Over by the fountain entrance." Steve pointed.

"Us too." He said and began limping in the direction with Steve. Helena waited for Myka to follow the guys before joining her, she couldn't resist seeing the other side of the costume.

"I must say darling, you look ravishing." Helena purred as she caught up to her.

"Thank you." Myka said blushing. "I like your outfit too."

"Yes? What about it do you like?" Helena asked huskily as she intentionally brushed her arm against Myka's.

"The colour reminds me of when you saved me with your grappler."

"I greatly enjoyed whisking you away." She said cheerfully as they entered the parking lot and stopped near Myka's SUV.

"I noticed." Myka smirked.

"I seem to recall that you enjoyed being in my embrace." Helena said stepping closer to Myka.

"I did and if you play your cards right you may find out just how much I truly enjoyed having your arms around me." Myka said taking a step closer to Helena. She couldn't resist the playful banter that was slipping past her lips.

"H.G, we're this way." Pete announced standing a short distance away from Myka's SUV.

"I'll be there in a moment Pete." Helena said momentarily looking away from Myka's eyes to plead with his. He nodded his understanding and gave her a moment alone with Myka as Steve climbed into the driver's seat of the SUV.

"I am eagerly anticipating our date." She said as she returned to look into the warmth of Myka's eyes.

"Me too. Any preferences for where you would like to go?" Myka asked smiling at her.

"Anywhere that you are will be perfect." Helena stepped closer to Myka so she was standing less than a foot away and grabbed Myka's hand, gently running her thumb across the back of it.

"You are incredibly charming." Myka smiled and shook her head slowly.

"I only speak the truth darling." Helena reached her free hand up and curled her finger around the end of Myka's damp curls. "Please don't lose these exquisite curls in the beautification task. They are enchanting."

"I won't if you promise not to dramatically alter your own hair?" She smiled, closing the remaining distance between them as she stroked the end of Helena's hair. Her smile disappeared as she watched Helena's head move tantalizingly closer to her. She closed her eyes in anticipation but was surprised when she felt a warm breath tickle her ear.

"I suppose I can earn those points by getting one of the extreme piercings. Any suggestions as to where I should get one done?" Helena whispered in her ear before stepping back to look at the lust in Myka's eyes. She watched as Myka's eyes moved to her lips and her voice hitched as Myka slowly leaned forward. Helena could feel Myka's warm breath inches from her mouth. Myka quickly jumped and moved away from Helena as she heard a horn honk nearby. The moment had passed. Myka's eyes looked down at Helena's lips and quickly back to her eyes.

"Uh, i'm just gonna go now." Myka said awkwardly as she all but sprinted for the front of the car and opened the passenger door. "We will continue this later." She said before climbing in.

"I look forward to it." She smiled and turned away making her way towards Pete, purposely swaying her hips knowing that Myka's eyes were following her.

Myka heard Steve laughing quietly beside her. "Maybe you should take another swim to cool off."

"Shut up!" She said as she punched him in the arm but she couldn't contain her smile.

 


	9. Impromptu Serenade

After leaving the park Pete lasted all of a minute before he launched question after question at Helena about what exactly had just happened in the parking lot with Myka.

“Enough!” Helena said after finally reaching breaking point at his persistent questioning. “I know what it may have appeared like from your view but I assure you that I did not kiss Myka, as much as I greatly wanted too.”

“Why not? You were right there!!”

“The moment was gone.” She said frustrated both at the lack of a kiss and at Pete’s disbelief.

“How hard is it to kiss someone?”

“There is more to kissing someone than simply pressing ones lips to another’s, especially with a first kiss.”

Pete thought it over for a moment before shaking his head and glancing at her. “You’re overthinking it. Next time you see her, don’t hesitate, just do it.”

She rolled her eyes at him and hoped her response would be enough to halt the conversation for now. “Thank you for your advice but I am confident that the right moment will present itself by the end of the day.”

“Well after what I witnessed in the park I don’t doubt that for a second.”

* * *

A little while later Pete and Helena arrived at a nearby supermarket chain and promptly made their way to the entrance to attempt the eleventh task.

“You will have to do this task Pete.” Helena stated walking alongside him.

“Why me?” He whined ignoring the looks many shoppers were directing at their costumes.

“I do not know any of Elvis Presley’s music.”

“I refuse to believe that. He’s the  _King_! You have been in this country for four years now, there is no way you have not heard any of his music!” He said in disbelief.

“If I have it has failed to capture my attention and I am certain that you know every word to atleast one of his songs.”

“Not just  _one_  of them.” He stated proudly as he entered the supermarket and scanned the room for the best way to complete the task.

“Good. Then do try to enjoy yourself in here when you take to the stage.” She teased walking away to find the best vantage point to film his attempt at the task.

Helena watched on in amusement as Pete discretely made his way towards the nearest abandoned register with an intercom system. He made his way behind the register unbeknownst to the elderly woman who was processing groceries opposite him. He repeatedly tapped the microphone as he pressed numerous buttons until he heard the sound reverberate throughout the stores speaker system.

“30 points Pete. You’ve got this.” He whispered to himself before looking to Helena to make sure she was recording him.

Helena was unprepared for what was about to happen and watched in wonder as he pointed to the elderly cashier and loudly sang the start of  _“Can’t help falling in love_.”

As he continued to sing and dance behind the register, a large group of shoppers made their way towards him, many of whom could not contain their laughter at the sight of a man dressed as Fred Flintstone singing Elvis to an elderly woman. Helena was positive he would have gotten down to his knees if the microphone wasn’t secured to the bench.

As Pete continued his performance of serenading the cashier and thoroughly entertaining the growing crowd, he’d gotten so caught up in the moment that he was oblivious to the approaching security guard.

“Sir, you are not permitted to be here. You have to leave.” The male guard said sternly to Pete who stopped singing mid word and looked at Helena to ensure that she had filmed the task. After receiving confirmation he grabbed the microphone one last time.

“Thank you shoppers, a thank you very much.” He said imitating Elvis before stepping away from the register and was delighted by the loud applause and cheers from many of the shoppers.

“Come on Flintstone, out you go.” The guard said loudly as he grabbed Pete by the elbow and turned him towards the exit before could bask in their affections. “I don’t want to see you back here again.”

* * *

 

“That was very entertaining indeed.” Helena laughed as she met up with Pete outside the store.

“So what did you think of it? I was awesome right?” Pete asked confidant of his performance skills.

“What were you doing with your feet?” She asked confused.

“You mean this?” He started dancing in the middle of the parking lot, legs waving crazily beneath his robe. “The King’s signature move.” He looked at her expecting her to know this but was met with a perplexed look. “Right, wrong century again.” He rolled his eyes. “Once this is over you are getting an education in all things pop culture from the man in the know, yours truly.”

“Is that necessary?” She groaned slightly.

“Asked the woman who doesn’t know that Clark Kent and Superman are the same person. Huh, I guess that makes you kinda like Lois Lane.” She raised her eyebrow at him, clueless to yet another of his  _many_  references. “And that reiterates my point.”

* * *

“So here’s the plan, you keep guard and if you see a security guard distract them.” Claudia said assuredly as she and Abigail walked throughout the small shopping complex that they had found themselves at by chance.

“How do you suppose I do that?” Abigail asked warily, knowing that whatever Claudia had in mind would not be beneficial to her.

“Just flirt with them.” Claudia said offhandedly.

“Why do I have to be the one to flirt?” Abigail grumbled as they approached the small security office at the end of the complex.

“You  _could_  shoplift something or streak throughout the mall? I just thought flirting might’ve been easier to distract the guard.”

“Yes, but why  _me_?”

“Well can you sing?” Claudia asked as they reached the office.

“Not in public.”

“There you go then. It’s settled.” Claudia concluded as she knocked on the door and waited for someone to open it. After not receiving a response and peeking through the glass of the door to confirm it was indeed unattended, she began to pick the lock while Abigail provided cover. She made quick work of unlocking the door and entering the office where she promptly located the microphone for the malls audio system.

Abigail stood watch, searching the small crowd for the security guard when she heard Claudia singing the opening line to “Suspicious Minds.” No one was paying any attention to the sudden change to the malls music.

* * *

Claudia exited the security office a minute later wearing a proud grin on her face as she sauntered towards Abigail. “That was far too easy.”

“You have such a fantastic voice.” Abigail said honestly as she led them in the direction of their next destination.

“Uh, thank you.” Claudia mumbled before briskly moving ahead of Abigail to hide the blush that was warming her cheeks.

Abigail sensed her reluctance and thought it best to change the subject. “Do you have any preferences for the next task?”

“Maybe a little ink and a dye, kinda limited for places to pierce.” She placed her fingers behind her ears to accentuate the vast number of piercings that were present.

“There are more places than just your ears.” Abigail joked.

“Limited for those too.” Claudia said without thinking and quickly turned to Abigail, her blush having turned crimson. “Uh, forgot I said that.”

“Will do.”

They walked together in silence as they made their way to the nearest salon to complete the first part of the twelfth task.

* * *

Myka and Steve were navigating their way through the enormous crowd of people at the city’s horse racing track as they sought out the location of the commentary box. They knew this wasn’t the best place to attempt the task but the opportunity had presented itself and they were eager to seize it.

“Okay,  _Task eleven, must complete the chorus to any Elvis Presley love song in a public place, over an audio system, without asking permission for 30 points._ ” Myka said reading from the list on her phone. “I am immensely relieved that you will be doing this one.” She yelled over the noise of the crowd so Steve could hear her.

“I  _really_  wish I’d done the diving task now.”

“Consider us even after this.”

* * *

They continued to traverse the crowd of spectators until they were standing outside the commentator’s box a short time later. They waited until the current race had finished before approaching the guard that was standing at the entrance. Always being prepared for any situation, Myka produced her Secret Service badge and quickly flashed it at the guard. He promptly moved aside to let them inside where they were greeted by two men, one middle aged and the other in his late sixties.

“Good afternoon gentlemen, we are sorry to disturb you. I am Agent Blake and this is Agent Jones of the FBI, we are here investigating a lead we have on race fixing.” She knew it was best not to give them their real names and organisations knowing that if Artie was to find out about what was about to happen, that they would be punished for sure. As Myka rambled on with the false story, Steve made his way over to where the microphone was located.

With the men paying full attention to Myka, Steve sat his phone against the window infront of the microphone and flicked the switch to,  _“On Air”_. Once he’d confirmed that the phone was recording him, he very quietly started singing the chorus to  _“Burning Love.”_

What had started out as a quiet murmur quickly turned into Steve belting out the final lines and drawing everyone’s attention to him. Myka bit her lip trying not to give their cover away by laughing as she watched Steve fight the younger man for control of the microphone. He’d finished the last word of the chorus just as the older commentator switched the mic off.

“What the hell do you think you were doing?!” The younger man demanded. He was outraged by Steve’s behaviour.

“I’ve always wanted to do that.” Steve shrugged grabbing his phone. Steve’s attitude towards his behaviour only served to aggravate the man more. Myka stepped between them before the situation escalated.

“I’m incredibly sorry about my partner. I assure you I will be reporting this incident to my supervisor.” Myka’s voice was stern as she played along.

“Get him out of here.” The elderly commentator said to Myka. She nodded to Steve and told him she would handle this and meet him shortly.

* * *

Once she had managed to calm the men down and ensured them that when she returned Steve would not be with her, she exited the booth, waded her way through the crowd and returned to where Steve had parked the vehicle.

“That went better than expected. So this makes us even?” She curiously asked as she climbed into the passenger seat beside him.

“That depends, how do you feel about chopping your hair to match mine?” He smiled mischievously at her.

“ _Never_ going to happen!”


	10. Beautification

Steve and Myka had decided to get the lengthier part of their task out of the way first. Myka had agreed to get a permanent tattoo for 100 points but when they'd phoned around to nearby tattoo parlours they were informed that there weren't any vacancies. They decided to forego the tattoo for now and focused on completing the piercing portion of the task instead.

"Since everywhere is booked one of us needs to get an extreme piercing." Myka said as she drove them towards their destination. "You sure there isn't a loophole in the task somewhere?"

" _In order to be eligible for any points, one member must receive either and extreme piercing or permanent tattoo and cannot get both. Limit of any one piercing per person._ " Steve read the instructions off his phone. "You know Claudia is going to get atleast 200 points, and Pete will do almost anything to win. If we want to stand a chance we both have to get one of the extreme piercings."

"I'm not comfortable with that."

"You could always make up for those points in the hair side of this task. You'd look great with permanent pink hair and a bob cut." Steve said seriously, hoping to give Myka the out she was seeking.

"Be that as it may, I promised Helena I wouldn't drastically alter my hair."

"So what's it going to be?" He asked and watched as Myka thought it over.

"I will get a navel piercing and to make up for lost points later, I will complete all of task 14 while you sit back and laugh hysterically?" She offered.

" _All_  of task 14?" He asked highly amused already.

"Yes, all of it."

Steve thought it over, he knew that they really needed the points as this task was a game changer but he could see she wasn't comfortable with any of the extreme piercings and since she had originally agreed to get the tattoo he decided that they could try to achieve it in the remaining tasks. "Deal."

* * *

After receiving her piercing Myka stayed to watch Steve receive his piercing. She was standing opposite him as he sat on the piercing bench and removed his shirt. Myka's jaw dropped as she spotted the small silver stud in his left nipple.

Steve realising what she was gaping at, cut her off before she could voice her question. "Do you remember when Claudia and I were sent to retrieve the original Truth or Dare boardgame?"

"Yeah?" She asked intrigued, yet still shocked.

"Long story short, I ended up with this and Claudia is banned for life from The Lotus Casino in Las Vegas." He reluctantly shared as he avoided eye contact.

"How?" Myka asked, she wasn't exactly sure she wanted to know the full story or  _any_  of the story for that matter.

"I promised her I wouldn't say  _what_  she did but it did involve Mrs Frederic bailing her out of jail afterwards." Steve said as he smiled sheepishly at her before focusing on the employee who was about to pierce his other nipple.

"You can't tell me that and then not share the rest of the story."

"A promise is a promise."

* * *

Claudia and Abigail entered the tattoo parlour after attending to the hair part of the task. Abigail had boldly opted to trim her long locks to her shoulders for 50 points and decided it would be a waste to put a temporary die in hair as dark as hers. Claudia had bent the rules slightly; her hair was of a length longer than her shoulders and therefore only needed to trim a few inches to be eligible for the 50 points. The only difficulty she had with the hair side of the task was in choosing a permanent colour that she liked best and after a lengthy discussion with Abigail and a few of the hair stylists, she decided on a bright, aqua blue.

* * *

Claudia resisted the urge to dance as she and Abigail entered the Tattoo and Piercing Parlour. She tried to contain her excitement as she walked to the counter where a middle aged man, heavily covered in tattoos greeted them.

"Hi ladies, what can I do for you?" He politely asked.

"Nice ink, i'm looking to get some myself, any chance you have a free half hour?" Claudia asked hopefully.

"I do have twenty minutes for one tiny tat but you'd have to pick it out right now."

"Score! I've already got one in mind." Claudia exclaimed as she grabbed a pen and note pad off the counter. "Do you mind?" She asked and he nodded for her to continue. She quickly wrote down a series of ones and zeroes.

"What's that?" He asked confused.

"Binary code for 'Knock Knock'. I want one on the inside of each ankle. Can you do that?"

"Yeah.. sure. I'll create a stencil for it and get you set." He said as he went to work to finalise the drawing.

"Why knock knock?" Abigail asked intrigued.

"It's kind of a joke between me and Artie, back when I kidn... borrowed him." She quickly said trying to cover up her slip of the tongue.

"You kidnapped Artie?" Abigail blurted.

"Borrowed." She insisted before mumbling, "With electrified handcuffs."

* * *

While Claudia was getting her ink completed, Abigail was fulfilling her part of the task and was currently laying on a bench in one of the back rooms of the shop.

"This'll only hurt a little bit, take a deep breath and hold it for me." The young, female staff member instructed as she drove the needle through Abigail's bellybutton. She was right, it did only hurt a little bit and was over in a second much to Abigails relief.

Once she was done with her piercing she made her way back to Claudia who was onto the final set of code. "How's it looking?" Claudia asked.

"Like it was meant to be there."

"Let us see it then?" Claudia asked and Abigail obliged by showing her her toned stomach with a tiny hint of silver at her navel. "Nice."

"Have you finally decided where you are getting pierced?"

"Since I need my tongue intact for task 16, I am going to get my nose pierced."

* * *

"I know you promised Myka you were not going to cut your hair but you can atleast trim it and give it a temporary colour." Pete reasoned as he and Helena decided how best to achieve the maximum points for the task. "It's 20 points that we need because knowing Claudia, she will go all out."

Helena hated it but she knew he was right. Claudia having been the one to suggest the task to begin with, would try to achieve every maximum point possible, giving her and Abigail a huge lead. "What colour do you suggest then?" She asked reluctantly agreeing.

"Red." Pete said thinking of the first colour that sprung to mind. He didn't care what colour she chose, he was thrilled that she was choosing to actually do it.

"Red it is then. Shall we?" She asked as they stood outside the salon.

"Ladies first." Pete replied as he held the door open for her.

* * *

"Wow, I haven't been this short since I was in the Marines." Pete said as he checked out his doo in the mirror. "I'm especially loving the green dye, reminds me of Captain Planet."

"I'm not sure that that counts." Helena replied from the hair drying station as her machine shut off.

"Oh it counts, it's permanent." Pete said proud of the 75 points he had just achieved for two very simply tasks. His smile quickly disappeared and the colour drained from his face as Helena emerged from the dryer. "Oh crap." He muttered to himself and braced for the outburst he knew was imminent.

"What the bloody hell is this!?" Helena demanded to anyone as she looked at her bright orange hair in the mirror.

"Mam, you were instructed to leave it in for twice as long as you did." The manager explained as she cautiously approached Helena. Pete let his training take over and quickly moved close to Helena to stop her from unleashing a tirade on the poor woman.

"Atleast it's a nice shade of orange." Pete said trying to calm her but was met with her fierce glare.

"You will pay for this  _Captain Planet_!" Helena pointed to Pete before storming off out of the store knowing that she only had herself to blame for to speed up the process so they could spend extra time at the tattoo parlour.

Pete stood dumfounded that Helena had actually walked away from the situation with minimal hassle and that she had correctly, yet unwittingly quoted the popular children's cartoon.

* * *

"How do I look?" Steve asked as he stepped out of the salon chair. Myka had gone first and opted for a simple trim for 10 points and a temporary dye that added a dark purple hue to her hair for another 10 points.

"Incredibly brave." She said trying to keep the amusement out of her voice and failing.

"Brave?" He asked confused.

"Yes, Pete and Claudia are going to have a field day once they see you."

"It feels weird." He said as he ran his hand over his bald head.

"Can I?" Myka reached her hand towards his head, Steve nodded and bowed his head so she could feel the smoothness of his scalp. "It  _is_  weird but you don't look much different actually."

"Thanks. So where to next?"

"The nearest sporting event, get your badge ready because we are going to need it."

* * *

Pete was excited to be able to add to his tattoo collection, a new memento to always remember this day by. He was immensely disappointed to find out that the parlour they had chosen was completely swamped with customers receiving tattoos all day. He had no choice but to attain the 100 points by getting one of the extreme piercings.

"We  _need_  these points! H.G, I think I am gonna have to use my get out of jail free card now."

"What are you referring too?" She asked confused. It was one of the references she had become accustomed to over the years but its place in their current circumstances baffled her.

"The diving task, you said you would do  _any_  task I chose for you."

"Really!? You're choosing that for this task?" She asked annoyed. She knew that agreeing to that earlier in the day would come back to bite her but never did she imagine it would lead her to this.

"We need the points and you made me get the maximum points for jumping from the top platform, little Pete and the boys are still sore from that by the way."

"Very well." She groaned as she begrudgingly agreed to do it. "You best hope we win this completion."

"Excellent."

* * *

Pete and Helena made off to separate rooms to get their piercings. Pete was being attended to by a skinny young man with duel sleeves of ink and several piercings.

"Which side do you want?" He asked Pete as he put on a pair of gloves and started assembling the equipment needed.

"Right. So how much is this going to h..." His question was cut off as he heard a very distinctive British voice swear loudly nearby. Pete gulped. "Oh crap, i'm dead."

* * *

Pete waited in the car for Helena to return. He knew he was already on thin ice for the hair fiasco but after hearing her curse repeatedly over the piercing, he knew that he would no doubt be receiving some kind of retaliation from Helena at some point throughout the rest of their challenges. He just hoped that whatever she had in mind she would complete as quickly as possible.

As he sat contemplating just what kind of scenarios he might face, he didn't hear the passenger side door open. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't realise that Helena was leaning towards him until it was too late. She could clearly see the fresh piercing protruding through his shirt and swiftly flicked it, causing him to shriek out in pain.

"What was that for?" He whined as he cupped his hand over his nipple, careful not to bump it. Helena raised her eyebrow challengingly at him and glared at him. "Right. Sorry." He said sheepishly.

"Thank you."

After everything he had pictured in his head of her seeking retaliation, he was immensely relieved that that was all she had chosen. His stomach suddenly dropped, was it all she had chosen for payback? He gulped and prayed that that was the worst of it.


	11. Public Proposal

Claudia was on an endorphin high after the last task and was feeling unstoppable as she flashed her badge to the security guards at the baseball stadium entrance. She stated that she and Abigail were there on official business tailing a suspect and that they were in need of two seats to blend in with the crowd. She had managed to convince the guards to provide them with seats behind the away team’s dugout, belying that it was nearby to the suspect they were tailing.

Once they had found their seats, Claudia pulled her computer out and started typing away on it quickly.

“What are you doing?” Abigail asked intrigued.

“Hacking into the stadium feed so we can accomplish this task, I don’t know about you but I do not wish to give a speech infront of  _this_  crowd.” She waved her hand around to indicate the densely packed stadium.

“I agree, so how are we going to accomplish this task?”

“On the next changeover of innings, watch the screen and go with it.” Claudia instructed as she continued to type away on her computer.

“Go with it?” Abigail asked slightly confused.

“Yeah, play along.” Claudia said nervously. Of everything she had done today, this was already proving to be the most challenging task. Piercings and tattoos were a synch for her, even a simple break and enter hadn’t fazed her but a public display of affection at this calibre made her incredibly nervous for reasons she was as of yet unsure of. 

* * *

The ball was caught, signalling the change of innings; Claudia pressed a key on her laptop which caused the jumbo screen to display a bright purple message which read,  _“Abigail, will you marry me?”_  Abigail was speechless, she knew that this was the reason that they were at the stadium but the suddenness of it had caught her off-guard.

She continued to watch the screen as the words changed to display a live video feed of her and Claudia. Her attention was pulled from looking at the screen as she felt someone gently squeeze her hand. Bent on one knee before her, Claudia was holding a ring in her right hand as she held onto Abigail’s left hand.

“Abigail Cho, will you marry me?” Claudia asked loudly as she smiled wholeheartedly at her. Even though the task made her incredibly nervous, she figured that if she had to do it then she was going to go all out and make it as believable as possible. Regaining her composure, Abigail returned the smile and pulled Claudia from the ground so that she was at eye level.

“Yes! Yes I will marry you!” She pulled Claudia into an embrace and kissed her ever so softly. Claudia returned the kiss but gasped in surprise as she felt Abigails tongue stroke against her bottom lip. Upon instinct, she complied with the request and deepened the kiss.

They were so caught up in the moment that they hadn’t realised the eruption of cheers in the stadium until they felt people patting them on the back and congratulating them. Abigail was the first to pull away; she was surprised by her actions but equally surprised by Claudia’s. She also hadn’t expected to enjoy the kiss nearly half as much as she did. Suddenly feeling rather light headed, she reached for her seat in the hopes of regaining her composure once more.

Claudia stood motionless as she felt Abigail pull away from the embrace. She absentmindedly brushed her fingertips over her lips retracing the kiss. She snapped out of her racing thoughts once she heard the congratulations of the elderly man next to her and turned to look at him and his wife.

“That was incredibly sweet of you. Congratulations to you two.” His wife said smiling at Claudia.

“Uh, thank you.” She said quietly before moving to sit down and jumped as she felt someone’s hand on her ass. Alarmed, Claudia spun to identify the offender but was shocked to see Abigail’s hand still in midair.

“I was trying to stop you from sitting on your computer.” Abigail said as she quickly retracted her hand, trying her best to stop her cheeks from turning an even darker shade of red.

“Right, thanks.” Claudia said awkwardly as she picked it up and sat down in its place. She had planned to cut the video feed but was relieved to see that they were no longer being displayed on the jumbo screen.

* * *

Once the congratulations had died down, Abigail leaned into Claudia and whispered in her ear, “We should get going, we still have alot of points to acquire.” The breath was hot on Claudia’s ear and sent a shiver down her spine, one she hoped Abigail was oblivious too.

“Yes, yeah, yeah, you’re right.” She bolted from her seat. “After you.”

Claudia waited for Abigail to move towards the aisle before following after her. As they made their way through the stadium in silence she texted a quick message to Steve.  _“Abigail kissed me, REALLY kissed me. Need your words of wisdom ASAP!”_

* * *

Myka and Steve had opted for something a little less low-key than a baseball game and had been fortunate enough to find an afternoon basketball game already in session. They were currently seated in the front row watching the game unfold as they eagerly awaited the half time buzzer.

“Everything alright?” Myka asked Steve as she noticed the amused expression on his face.

“Abigail kissed Claudia.” He said as he put his phone away.

“So I take it they have completed this task then?” Myka said, not thinking anything of it.

“I assume so.” He started laughing and smirked at Myka.

“What?” She asked cautiously.

“Claudia kissed a woman today before you did.” He laughed and spoke again quickly before she could react. “You can’t hit me, we are about to get engaged remember.”

“You just want to hope I say yes.” She teased before turning her attention back to the game.

“Will you?” He asked nervously. They had formulated a plan but it wasn’t specified if Myka’s response was to be  _yes_  to the proposal. He’d assumed that she would but her sudden response had given him pause and the reality of what he was about to do infront of the large crowd was overwhelmingly daunting.

“Oh look, only two minutes from halftime and there’s John.” She pointed towards a middle aged man that they had met earlier, he was the MC who worked at the stadium. “You better go get ready.” She laughed, purposely avoiding answering the question as Steve made his way towards the MC.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, I’d like to introduce to Steve.” John said into the microphone at halftime as he placed his hand on Steve’s shoulder before continuing to speak to the crowd. “He’s approached me today because he has a very special question to ask someone. Steve” He handed Steve the microphone. Steve took a deep breath and looked directly at Myka who was still seated in the front row.

“Myka.” He started to walk to her slowly, never breaking eye contact. “I’ve spent a long time searching for that one person that makes me feel whole. I now know that I can stop searching because i’ve found you.” A loud  _“Aww”_  was heard throughout the room.  “And the moment you walked into my life I knew it had changed for the better and I know that I never want to go another day without having you to wake up to.” He got down on his knee and pulled a ring from his pocket as he took Myka’s hand in his. “Myka Bering, will you do me the incredible honor of becoming my wife?”

The stadium held their breath in anticipation as Myka smiled at Steve, a lone tear falling from her cheek. “Yes.” She said loudly and jumped from her seat as the crowd cheered. As Steve stood she leaned forward and kissed him. It was a simple kiss, sweet but lacking passion. She pulled away from the kiss and buried her face in Steve’s chest to muffle the sound of her laughter, the absurdity of the situation proving to be too much.

“Congratulations you two.” John said as he retrieved the microphone from Steve. “That was incredibly beautiful man.”

“Thanks.” Steve said smiling at John.

“Yes, thank you.” Myka said as she detached herself from Steve’s chest and faced John.

“What do you say guys, how about a round of applause for the happy couple.” John announced over the microphone to the crowd.

“Let’s go before I lose my composure anymore.” Myka said to Steve as she pulled him along towards the exit as the crowd cheered loudly around them.

Once they had made their way to the parking lot and were out of earshot of anyone, Myka turned to Steve and smiled. “You know, you really are going to make some guy incredibly happy one day.”

“Thank you.”

* * *

“You do know that you actually have to show someone your piercing for the points to count right?” Pete asked Helena as they drove to the location of their current task;  _propose to your teammate at a sporting event for 50 points._

“I am well aware, thank you.”

“Who are you going to show it to then? And while we are on the subject, just  _where_  did you get pierced?” Pete asked as he glanced in her direction trying to ascertain the location by her current body language. She was slightly turned away from him as she peered out the window, foiling his attempt to do so.

“The person to whom I show it too will be the first one to find out.” She said trying to hide her mischievous smile from Pete. “Until then, I suggest you best rehearse your speech.”

* * *

Helena was seated next to Pete in the front row of a basketball hall. Unfortunately for Helena, they had arrived only a few minutes into the game and would have to bide their time until halftime by watching the game, which for her meant that she would have to listen to Pete cheer along enthusiastically for the entirety of their stay.

“How much longer must I endure this display of testosterone?” Helena groaned to Pete who was oblivious to her annoyance as he was too caught up in the game. Neither of the teams were ones he knew of prior but he always chose a side anytime he was at a sporting event.

“Once this quarter is over, then we are up.” He said, not taking his eyes off the game. Helena looked at the score board and sighed. There were still twenty minutes left on the clock.

The time passed painfully slowly for Helena and she had found the only way to get through the torture was by thinking of possible date ideas for Myka. She had been so caught up in the possibilities that she hadn’t realised Pete had left his seat and was now standing in the middle of the court holding a microphone.

“Bollocks.” She mumbled to herself as she watched him approach.

Upon their arrival Pete had discussed their plan for the proposal and decided that it would be quick and simple, he would propose and Helena would say yes. That was _Pete’s_  plan, Helena had a slightly different idea in mind.

She watched as Pete got down on one knee before her and smiled as he held her hand. The sight made Helena want to cringe but she knew she had a role to play so she ignored her instincts and played along by returning his smile as he started to speak.

“Helena Wells, will you marry me?” Pete asked loudly as his palms began to sweat as he continued to hold her hand. Even though he had been in this position before, his heart was still racing uncontrollably as he waited with baited breath for Helena to respond.

“I’m sorry Peter, I can’t. I’m in love with someone else.” She said loud enough for it to be heard over the microphone.

Pete’s face dropped, he had not been prepared for that response. He watched as Helena quickly shuffled past him towards the exit. He was shocked and embarrassed beyond belief as he looked around to the vast number of people filming him before handing the microphone to the guy next to him and chasing after her.

“H.G?” He called annoyed as he caught up to her a couple of minutes later. “What the frack was that?!”

She faced him with her ever present smirk plastered on her lips, the sight only adding to his anger. “You just humiliated me infront of so many people. I’ll be on youtube in an hour. Thanks alot!”

“You’re very welcome.” She said with a great amount of humour in her voice as she continued to walk quickly to the entrance.

“This is not funny H.G!”

“I disagree, but you could atleast  _thank_  me.” She said with mirth as she strode ahead of him with eyes full of mischief.

“Thank you!!” He shouted. “I should freaking Tesla you!”

“I’d love to see you try but you should consider yourself indebted to me.” She said as she walked through the exit and headed to their vehicle.

“Are you freaking insane!!?” He yelled, outraged at her train of thought. “Was this your way of getting back at me for the piercing?”

“You really are a man child, aren’t you?” She said as she stopped to face him. She had become used to his outbursts over the years and knew that the best way to deal with them was head on, especially if Pete was failing to see the point. “Stop!” She raised her hands to stop him from protesting. “Do you know how many women find a heartbroken man attractive? I have guaranteed you a large number of dates in the future.” She watched as the realisation hit him. “You are welcome by the way.” She stated before walking away yet again.

Pete was speechless as he thought it over. She was right; he knew that women loved the handsome brooding man and he knew that if he played it right he could make the situation work for himself. A huge part of him knew that Helena had done it because she was greatly annoyed at him but he couldn’t argue with her reasoning. “I’m sorry for my outburst.” He said as he caught up to her. “Thank you H.G.”

“You’re welcome Pete."


	12. Dolls In The Drive-Thru

Claudia had asked Abigail to drive her Prius stating that she needed to ascertain the location for their next task. She was relieved when Abigail agreed instead of offering to research it herself. Claudia desperately needed the distraction to take her mind away from the kiss and she didn’t trust herself behind the wheel of the car right now. She chided herself for thinking anything of it. “ _Sure it was intense but that was just them both playing it up for the camera, right?”_ She told herself.

Their friendship had grown greatly over the past year but that was all it was, Claudia was sure of it. She groaned as a message from Steve interrupted her research.

_“Did YOU enjoy the kiss?”_  The message read. She subconsciously ran her tongue over her lower lip and a chill ran down her spine as she tasted Abigail’s lip-gloss. She  _had_  enjoyed it and even felt something when she’d kissed her, something that confused her greatly.

She hadn’t noticed that the car had stopped. “You can stop looking for a place, I’ve found one.” Abigail said as she turned the engine off. Claudia put her phone away without replying to the question, it would only lead to more questions, ones that she really needed to talk to him in person about.

“So how do you want to do this?” Claudia asked awkwardly as she tentatively looked at Abigail.

“Whoever goes in there doesn’t have to be in the driver’s seat when we go to the drive-thru?”

“Deal but how do we decide?” She said, glimpsing at Abigail’s lips.

“Coin toss, whoever wins gets to choose which one they prefer?” Abigail offered.

“Huh?” Claudia asked having heard nothing as she quickly averted her eyes to meet Abigail’s gaze again.

“Coin toss?”

“Ok.” Claudia said as she reached into the cars middle console and grabbed out one of the many random coins she had tossed in there over time. “You call it.” She flipped it and Abigail called heads. Claudia uncovered her hand and groaned as she revealed that it was indeed heads. She was not about to enjoy what was about to happen.

* * *

Claudia walked into the shop and tried not to draw any attention to herself but it proved impossible as she was the only customer in the store. As she walked through the aisles she spotted a large, middle aged man with a long grey beard sitting behind a glass display cabinet. She tried to avoid eye contact as she searched the store for what she needed. After trying hard not to let her imagination run wild as she scanned the vast variety of items on display, she was relieved when she finally located the items that were needed for the task. Claudia approached the shelf and selected two of them quickly, not caring which ones she grabbed. She walked to the counter and placed them on it, still avoiding eye contact with the man.

“How you doing today love?” He asked cheerily.

“Fine.” She said quickly, desperately hoping he wouldn’t ask more so she could leave with as little embarrassment as possible.

“Can I help you with anything else?” He asked as he scanned the products. Claudia’s face turned scarlet as she thought of what other items he might have she might need.

“No thanks.”

“You enjoy yourself now.” He smiled as he handed her the black bag. Claudia shuddered at the implication and made a hasty exit for the door with her bag clutched under her arm tightly.

Once outside she climbed into the back of her Prius and buckled her seatbelt. Abigail turned to look at her from the driver’s seat and laughed at the state of her. Claudia was clearly frazzled but Abigail found it adorable. The thought surprised her.

“You look like you had fun.”

“Ha. Ha. Take one of these and let’s fulfil the second part of the task.” Claudia handed her one of the boxes and opened her own.

* * *

 

“How’d it go?” Myka asked as Steve climbed in the back of her SUV. He was smiling mischievously.

“Great! Got three of them.” He pulled each of them out of the bag to show her. Myka laughed heartily as she looked at them shaking her head. The thought of what they were about to do was no doubt going to be embarrassing but compared to some of their earlier tasks she knew this one was going to be easy, especially now that the hard part was over. Her phone beeped, it was a picture message from Pete.

_“Can’t take her anywhere.”_  The message read, she opened the attached picture and laughed.

“What?” Steve asked as he leaned over the seat. He laughed too as he looked at the picture. “I wonder if she picked out anything for you.” He continued to laugh as Myka punched his shoulder twice. “Okay, I deserved that.” He said still laughing as he leaned back in his seat and started opening the boxes.

* * *

 

Pete and Helena were standing out the front of the same store that Claudia had entered earlier, unbeknownst to them.

“Now H.G., you have to promise me that you will behave in here.” Pete said seriously.

“Why would I not behave myself? What is this establishment?” She asked curiously as she looked at the blacked out windows. The place didn’t even look like it was open and if it wasn’t for the sign on the door she would have assumed it wasn’t.

“Just  _please_  try not to touch  _anything_ , no matter how tempting it may be.” He begged and tried to brace himself for what was about to happen. He knew he should have left her in the car but he was extremely curious to know what it would be like to unleash Helena in this store. He pressed record on his phone as he and Helena entered the store.

Helena smiled mischievously as she understood what kind of store they were in. “How lovely.” She said as she walked further into the Adult Store, past the couple that were looking at outfits and straight to the adult toys section. She picked up the nearest vibrator and held it out for Pete to see. “Is this what I think it is?”

“That depends, what do you think it is?”

“It looks like a modern day advancement on the first vibrator, how marvellous.” She put it back and grabbed another larger one and examined it, completely oblivious that Pete was recording her. The bearded owner made his way towards them.

“Is there anything I can help you with?” He asked them both.

“Yes, what is this?” She grabbed a set of anal beads off the shelf and held it for the man to see. Pete was blushing but was relieved that there was a professional to explain it. He told her what it was and how it was used. She was fascinated by it. She asked him about several more items before Pete gave up and searched for what they had really come to the store for. He took a picture of Helena holding a dildo and a tube of flavoured lube and sent it to Myka, he had to share this moment with someone. After locating the items they needed he made his way back to the owner.

“Hey, i’ll just take these please.” He held up the three items for the man to see.

“Excellent, i’ll process it for you now.” He walked towards the cash register leaving Pete alone with Helena.

“Yeah so i’ll just go and purchase these and meet you in the car.” Pete said awkwardly. She smiled as she sensed his discomfort.

“I would be grateful if you would help me choose one of these items.” She asked innocently in an attempt to add to his discomfort.

“Oh hell no! You buy whatever you want, just never tell me about it. It’s bad enough i’ve seen Myka’s ones.” He realised his mistake as soon as the words had left his mouth. Myka was going to kill him.

“Myka has these? Which ones?” She asked genuinely intrigued but Pete could see mischief blended with the curiosity in her eyes.

“No way! You  _cannot_  tell her that you know! She will kill me and make my death look like an accident!” He turned pale thinking about it. He was screwed and he knew it.

“I won’t tell her if..” She said teasingly.

“If what?” He asked cautiously. Helena was offering him an out, he knew that it was going to come at a price, one that he wasn’t sure he would be willing to pay but given the alternative he really didn’t have much of a choice.

“Select one you think she would like.” She said with a smirk.

“No! Oh god no!” He turned away quickly and hurried to the counter. He was never sure of when Helena was joking but he was sure that she was messing with him now. Oh how he hoped she was messing with him now. He needed to get as far away from the store as he could at that moment, he would rather face Myka’s wrath than know what Helena was about to purchase. He silently prayed that when she got in the car that she would not show them to him.

* * *

 

“Can I get two small cokes?” Abigail said to the drive-thru speaker box.

“Anything else?” The female voice asked.

“No thank you.” She replied and drove forward in the queue. She took a deep breath and looked beside her and shook her head. “We better win this vacation.” She said to Claudia as she looked in the rearview mirror where she was seated on the passenger’s side.

“This is almost over, we just have to get the food.” She waved at a group of people that were staring at them as they walked past laughing. “And you got the easy part of this challenge so quit complaining. You didn’t have to see the guy that worked there.”

“Only one person saw you in there, there are dozens of people looking at us. I think you got it easier.” She whined and moved forward another car space.

“Now that I see all these people gawking at us, I did get it easier but  _you_  chose this, so you only have yourself to blame.”

“I can blame Steve for this one, it was his suggestion.” She said before pulling up to the first window. The young girl inside finished placing an order and looked at Abigail.

“Hi, two small.....” She forgot what she was saying as she looked at the scene before her. Behind and beside Abigail were a matching set of blonde Blow-Up dolls. The girl was speechless, being a drive-thru attendant she had seen her fair share of ludicrous things but this was right up there on the weird and out-there scale.

“Yes, two cokes.” Abigail handed over a $5 note to the stunned girl whose cheeks were a bright red and getting redder. She turned away from Abigail and processed her order before silently returning her change. Abigail nodded and drove forward towards the next window. “That poor girl is mortified.”

“I know right.” Claudia said as she finally let the laugh she had been holding escape.

They pulled up to the final window to receive their drinks. There were a group of employees busily working away, oblivious to them. A different young girl handed Abigail the drinks and started laughing as she noticed the dolls in the vehicle. Abigail, finally seeing the humour of the situation laughed along with her and Claudia as she thanked her for the drinks. She was incredibly relieved to be leaving the area.

* * *

“I can’t believe we are actually doing this.” Myka laughed as she pulled into the drive-thru lane.

“Just try to act natural.” Steve said from the middle of the back seat.

“Really?! What about  _this_  is natural?” She continued laughing as she pointed to the dolls in the car. Beside her in the front seat sat a raven haired doll that Steve had chosen for her as a  _“Temporary H.G. Substitute.”_ In the back seat on either side of Steve were two male blow-up dolls, a brunet and a blonde that he had his arms around.

“Hello, what can I get for you?” A woman’s voice asked loudly through the drive-thru speaker box.

“You’re breaking up, i’m gonna drive around to the window and order.” Myka stated and drove forward before the woman could respond. “Remind me to Tesla you for suggesting this.” She smiled in the mirror at him, this was certainly better than jumping from the diving board and getting a piercing.

They approached the window and were greeted by a young woman in her early twenties. “Hi.. uh... what can I get for you?” The girl looked at Myka bemused as she noticed the doll beside her. She looked into the back and was even more surprised to see two more dolls on either side of Steve. She hadn’t seen the phone in his hand that he was using to film the task.

Myka looked at the young girl and smiled innocently, “I’ll have a happy meal. What about you four, what would you like?” She turned to the doll next to her and leaned towards it. “She’ll have a soft serve, Steve what would you and the guys like?”

“I’ll get a medium coke and a soft serve for each of the guys.” He said as he kissed one of the dolls on the cheek. The girl’s eyes widened as she looked at them, trying not to freak out. It was her second day working drive-thru and she was unsure what to do in the situation.

“Did you get all that or would you like me to repeat it?” Myka asked her sweetly.

“What?” She asked as she quickly looked away from the doll in the front seat.

“Don’t mind her, she flirts with everyone.” Myka ran her hand along the dolls leg as she continued to look at the girl whose eyes were following Myka’s hand. “So what did it come to?”

“Uh,” The clerk looked away and placed the order, trying desperately to focus on her job and not look back into the vehicle. She breathed a sigh of relief once the order was paid for and the car had driven past her window.

“That was priceless!” Steve said between laughs.

“That poor girl, this was mean.” Myka said as she shook her head but couldn’t contain her smile.

“You kidding, we probably made her day. This stuff doesn’t happen every day.”

They waited a minute before they approached the final window to collect their food. “Don’t panic, just go with it.” Steve said as he leaned over and pushed the female doll face first into Myka’s lap. She slapped his hand away and was about to push the doll off when the drive-thru window opened.

“Here you...go?” The young man said as he handed over the Happy-Meal and two drinks.

“Thank you.” Myka smiled at him.

“Are there straws?” Steve asked, causing the young man to look into the backseat. His jaw hung open as he looked at the dolls in the back.

“Yes. Uh, the ice creams?” Myka asked remembering that the condition to receive the points was to collect everything that they had ordered.

“Oh, um.. yeah.” He quickly turned around and knocked over a nearby drink which caused majority of the people inside the restaurant to look towards him. Myka tried to keep a straight face as she noticed the looks of horror and amusement appear on many faces.

“Here you go.” The young man handed her the ice creams.

“Thank you.” She smiled and handed the items to Steve before driving away.

“I can’t believe we actually just did that!”

“You know you loved it! And I see that you enjoy having the H.G. substitute in your lap?” She realised what he meant and quickly pushed the doll away so it was sitting upright in the passenger seat again.

“You will pay for that.” She glared at him in the mirror but he noticed the amusement in her eyes and laughed along with her.

* * *

 

Pete was relieved that Helena had yet to divulge what she had purchased from the sex shop, whatever it was it was large as they had given her their largest black bag which she had stowed away in the back of the vehicle.

Pete pulled into the empty drive-thru. “Okay H.G. all we have to do to get the points is successfully receive an order by driving through the drive-thru with a blow-up doll in the car.”

“Yes, but why do we have  _three_  of them?” She turned and looked in the backseat where two female and a male doll were buckled in.

“The more dolls, the more points.” He stated as though it was the most logical answer.

“And how many points will we achieve for this task?”

“50, each doll is worth 10 points.”

“Why would  _Steve_  even suggest this as a task?” She asked perplexed. She was amazed that these items actually existed and that people used them but that it was Steve who made the suggestion for this task was what intrigued her most of all.

“He had someone do this to him when he was working at a place like this in high school, or college. I guess he’s always wanted to try it for himself.” Pete deduced.

“Why would anyone do this though?” She asked confused.

“Because it’s always fun to make people laugh, especially if you have a very repetitive job.”

“And these dolls will do this?”

“Yes. Watch and learn.” He said as he approached the window.

“Hello, welcome to KFC, what can I get for you today?” A young man asked as he looked to Pete.

Pete relayed his and Helena’s orders and turned to the backseat.

“What do you three want?” Pete paused before speaking again. “You’ll have to speak up because I don’t think he heard you.” Pete pushed the button to lower the back window giving the man a clear view of the dolls. The employee immediately started laughing.

“What the hell man?” He asked between laughs.

“Just taking some friends out for lunch.” Pete smiled at him as Helena recorded the exchange.

“Well what can I get for you three?” He asked as he looked at the dolls. He was met with silence and looked at Pete again. “Yeah they aren’t speaking.”

“I guess they don’t feel like chicken, we’ll just get the rest.” Pete said laughing as he paid for the order and waited for the food. The employ wished them a good day as Pete and Helena left the drive-thru.

“What do we do with the dolls now?” Helena asked.

“I’m sure we can find an amusing use for them.”


	13. Dare A Little Dare For Me

The previous night when everyone had suggested the tasks to be completed there had been many tasks that not everyone had agreed on, arguing that certain ones were too extreme. After a lengthy discussion and many pleas from Pete and Claudia, the group had settled on allowing task fifteen be a free for all. Each team could dare the other two teams to do  _any_  task of their choosing as long as the task was not illegal. It was worth a total of 50 points, 25 points for each person and each team member could only do one task. It was the last task to complete before everyone was to meet back in the park to complete the final five tasks together.

Claudia and Abigail had received their first dare from Team Flintstones which Claudia had instantly accepted to do hoping that it wouldn’t be as bad as Steve and Myka’s suggestion. The dare she had received form Helena was rather simple, ‘ _dance with a blow up doll in the auto carwash lane._ ’

Abigail stood nearby filming Claudia as she boldly made her way to the vacant carwash lane wearing a dark blue bikini with a female blow up doll tucked under her arm. Although she was drawing many eyes in her direction she ignored them and proudly strutted the rest of the way to the lane. After inserting the coins and pressing start she proceeded to the centre of the carwash and began waltzing with the doll.

The other patrons at the carwash watched on in amusement as Claudia and the doll were drizzled with water before being covered in colourful soap. Claudia braced herself for the impending force of the water by trying to shield herself behind the doll. The force of the spray was so hard that it punctured the doll instantly, almost tearing it in two. Claudia couldn’t take anymore and quickly ran away from the carwash lane towards Abigail who was laughing quietly in the next lane.

“Are you alright?”

“That stung like a mother lover! H.G is going to pay something fierce for this.”

“I have no doubt that she will.” Abigail smiled as she looked her up and down and watched the drops slowly leave her body, her smile turned to a smirk as she placed her phone in her pocket and walked to the end of the self-service lane. Claudia watched curiously as Abigail inserted a coin, pushed a button and picked up the spray gun. She squirted it once at the ground and then aimed it at Claudia causing her to shriek in surprise. “What the hell?”

“You still had a little soap.”

“Well is it gone now?” Claudia asked as she looked for any remaining soap but wasn’t seeing any.

“Almost.” Abigail smiled as she sprayed her again.

Once the soap was completely removed and Claudia was almost dry they made their way to the Prius with Abigail still laughing. Claudia retrieved her phone from its holder and noticed that she had a new message from Steve. It was their dare from him and Myka.

“You can keep laughing doc but looks like you’re taking a dip too.”

“What?” She asked confused. Claudia handed her the phone as she pulled away from the carwash. She could see the distress instantly appear on her face.

“Bet you are wishing you volunteered to do my dare now?”

“I don’t know which is worse.”

* * *

“Here we are. You up for this?” Claudia asked as they looked at the door for  _Phil’s Pool Palace_.

“How  _are_  we going to do this?” Abigail asked nervously.

“Well first let’s scout it out.” She answered as she entered the pool store.

Instantly Claudia found their target and made her way over to the large indoor display pool. She peeked over the edge and was ecstatic to see that it was half filled with water. The store was rather busy for a Saturday afternoon and she was relieved that all of the staff members were currently busy attending to other customers. Claudia turned to locate Abigail who looked like she was about ready to pass out.

“Hey, you really don’t have to do this if you don’t want to. It  _really_  is fine.” Claudia offered and Abigail could tell that she genuinely meant it. She was relieved that Claudia was giving her an out.

“I appreciate the offer but you went through with your task so I  _am_  going to do this.”

“But you..” Abigail held up her hand to stop her protest.

“Thank you Claudia but I am going to do this.” She smiled nervously at her before meeting her eyes to offer her reassurance. Claudia nodded and turned back to face the room to make sure that they were not being watched.

“Okay, whenever you are ready. I’m going to get Dorothy and I’ll be right back.”

“Dorothy?” Abigail asked confused but didn’t get an answer as Claudia left the store.

She stood at the base of the pool ladder and looked around to ensure no eyes were on her. Ensuring she was clear, she unzipped her dress, shucked it off her shoulders, climbed the ladder and quickly sunk into the pool. Her heart was beating rapidly as she awaited the loud voice of someone demanding her to get out of the pool. She scanned the edges of the pool for faces and was momentarily relieved to not find any looking back at her. A moment later her heart threatened to leap from her chest as something large gently landed on her head.

“Alright you have your flotation device, now let’s get that picture.” Claudia said as she held her phone over the edge of the pool.

“You scared me half to death Claudia.” Abigail whispered as she gripped the doll tightly.

“Sorry.” Claudia offered sheepishly. “Now saddle up on Dorothy so we can get out of here.”  Claudia teased.

Abigail glared at her as she completed the dare that Steve and Myka had given her,  _“Go to a pool shop, enter a demo pool and take a swim with a blow up doll.”_

“Okay, it’s done! Now let’s get the hell out of here!” Abigail whispered as she held on to the base of the ladder and quickly made her way out of the pool, leaving the doll behind. Claudia scooped up her clothes and led the way to the entrance. Once outside she breathed a sigh of relief.

“Are we clear?” Abigail asked panting from behind her. Claudia turned to hand her the towel she had in the back of the car when her breathe caught in her throat as she watched Abigail panting before her with her hands hunched over on her knees. She was covered in a glistening sheen of water and the matching set of black undergarments clung to her body tightly. She quickly handed her the towel and hoped that Abigail hadn’t noticed her blatant starring yet again.

“Thanks.” Abigail said as she quickly towelled herself down while Claudia climbed into her seat and started the car. She retrieved her phone and sent a text to Steve and Pete to inform them that they would be arriving at the park shortly. After hitting send she threw her head back against the headrest and closed her eyes, willing her mind not to dwell on the image of a wet and dripping Abigail. She opened her eyes upon hearing the passenger door open and watched as Abigail sat down in only her bra and undies. “Oh crap.” She mumbled.

“What was that?” Abigail asked as she secured her seatbelt.

“Uh… uh.. the park. We’re meeting everyone back at the park.”

* * *

Myka and Steve’s dare from Team Flintstone was to also be performed at a carwash.  

“I think it’s fair that I do this one, after all you’ve done more tasks than me. I’m willing to do this one.” Myka offered to Steve as they stood next to the pay station at the auto carwash lane.

“That’s very kind of you to offer but are you sure it’s not because Claudia might have an even worse dare in mind?” He asked raising an eyebrow.

“I wouldn’t put it past her but this one really isn’t that hard.”

“Hard! That’s the spirit.” Steve laughed. “Just remember you have to say both lines to complete the dare.”

They spent the next few minutes mentally prepping Myka for the task as she repeated her lines over and over hoping she sounded someone convincing. She was in the middle of repeating her second line to Steve when a light blue minivan pulled into the lane and stopping parallel to Myka and Steve. “Good Luck.” Steve whispered as he stepped away to film the her.

“Good afternoon.” A middle aged man smiled at Myka. “Hi.” She said as she bent forward to make eye contact with him and to get a view of who else may be in the van. It was then that she noticed the woman sitting beside him in the passenger seat and that the van was filled with children in baseball uniforms in the back. Myka was instantly regretting her decision to follow through with the dare but as time was against them she knew it had to be  _this_  car if they wanted to gain the points to stay in the running for the prize. “I’ll take the deluxe wash please.” He smiled at her drawing her attention away from the inside of the car.

“My oh my, you have been dirty haven’t you?” Myka purred in what she hoped was a sexy voice as she ran a finger over the thin layer of dust on the door. She leaned into the window closer to the man and huskily whispered, “Working this job gets me so wet, infact, I am  _dripping_ right now.” She said looking directly into his eyes while trying desperately to stop her face from giving away her amusement.

“Excuse me!” The woman in the passenger seat demanded. “That is highly inappropriate! Is your manager here?”

“I don’t know. I don’t work here.” Myka said with a straight face which instantly turned to panic as the woman grabbed her doorhandle. Myka reacting on instinct grabbed Steve by the elbow and quickly escorted him away to where they had parked. “She’s not following is she?”

“No.” Steve said as he looked behind them. “I think she is searching for the manager.”

“Good.” Myka said relieved before releasing the laugh she had been holding. “I can’t believe I actually said that!”

“I gotta say, you were  _very_  convincing.”

“You think so?” She asked sarcastically rolling her eyes.

“Oh yeah.” He said handing her his phone for her to watch the video as he climbed into the SUV. Myka stood outside watching her performance when Steve’s phone received a message from Claudia informing him of her chosen dare. Myka laughed loudly as she opened the door and handed the phone back to Steve.

“See, definitely convincing.”

“I wasn’t laughing at that. Claudia sent  _your_  dare.” She smirked as he face lost a little colour.

* * *

As they drove to the next destination Steve and Myka had discussed their plan to get the dare done with as little embarrassment as possible. Myka’s dare for 25 points had been simple, ‘S _ay two sexually suggestive things to a customer at a carwash.’_  Claudia’s dare would certainly prove to be more difficult.

Myka entered the pet store first and smiled at the employee behind the counter as she walked to the back wall of the shop and waited for Steve to join her. A moment later Steve was kneeling at her feet pretending to tie his laces as Myka secured a large black studded collar around his neck.  Claudia had dared him to pretend to be a dog as Myka walked him through a store to buy a collar and leash.

“This is mortifying.” Steve whispered as he adjusted the collar.

“Aww, it really brings out the blue in your eyes though.” She teased as she grabbed a black leash from the rack. “C’mon, can’t have you off a leash you know.” She laughed as she clipped it to the collar. “Good boy.” She patted his bald head and laughed as Steve glared at her.

“I think Claudia is getting me back for the dolls.”

“Shush puppy, remember you are only allowed to bark and growl.”

Steve playfully growled at her as he handed her the end of the leash before placing his palms on the ground. Seeing that she had grip of the leash he started to crawl towards the register tugging Myka behind him.

“Slow down, I need to film this for proof.”

It had been a tyring crawl to the register and many heads in the shop had turned to watch them as they passed by with one teenager even taking the time to record them. Steve crawled into the small queue at the register and barked loudly at the man standing in front of him who turned around and gave them a perplexed look before quickly stepping closer to the woman infront of him. Steve smiled and barked again causing the man to jump.

“I’m so sorry about him, he’s normally so friendly with others.” Myka said to the man who nodded and approached the counter praying silently to himself that he wouldn’t have to endure the store much longer. After paying for his items, he gave Steve one last look before making a break for the exit.

“Uh hi, how can I help you?” The young male cashier asked when Myka and Steve approached the counter. He laughed when Steve licked Myka’s hand much to her surprise.

“Just the leash and collar please.” She said and instructed for Steve to lean his head on top of the counter. Steve rose slightly and laid his head on the counter close to the cashier. The man ignored the odd behaviour and grabbed the handheld scanner to read the barcode on the collar. He jumped as Steve growled at him. “Steve! Bad dog. Bad!” Myka scolded and apologised to the man, causing Steve to whimper.

Once the order was paid for they made their way to the exit with Steve continuing to crawl as Myka held the leash. Once outside he quickly rose to his feet and removed the leash and collar. “You handled that with ease.”

“You weren’t so bad yourself. Did I ever tell you about the time that Pete got whammied into thinking he was a Doberman?” She casually asked as she adjusted her sunglasses.

“You’re kidding?”

“I really wish I was. He drooled a little less than he normally does though and oh, I saw him mark his territory.”

“He didn’t!” He exclaimed.

“More than once.”

* * *

Pete handed the phone to Helena to show her the dare they had received from Myka. He’d made the mistake of sending her their dare before receiving her suggestion for them. He now realised just how much of a mistake it was. “You do it, please?” He begged as Helena read the text.  _“Run an entire block and back in your underwear.”_

“Certainly not. It would be improper for me to do such a thing.”

“Improper? You got a piercing earlier and brought who knows what at the sex shop. Don’t even dare!” He pointed his finger at her impeding her from sharing the details with him. “But  _this_  is improper?”

“Yes.” She said simply and handed him his phone.

“It’ll be easier if you do it.” He pleaded again. Desperately hoping she’d agree to it.

“I will not be running a city block in just my undergarments.”

“I beg you H.G. Don’t make me do it. Please?” He got down on his knees and linked his fingers together pleadingly. “Please.”

“No!” She stated when her phone alerted her to a new message. She unlocked it to see that it was a dare from Claudia. Pete watched as the colour drained from her face. “Okay, i’ll do it.”

“Wait. What was that?” Pete asked pointing to her phone.

“ _Your_  dare.” Helena answered looking past Pete.

“No! I’m doing this one, whatever  _that_  is is bad isn’t it?”

“Not at all.” She lied. Pete quickly snatched the phone and read the message that was still displayed on the screen. He laughed instantly and handed it back to her.

“I don’t care how embarrassing this is, I will  _pay_  to see you do that.”

“Pete, I beg of you. Do not make me do it!”

“Nu uh, you had your chance.” He said as he pulled his shirt over his head and threw it to her before unzipping his fly and stepping out of his pants, leaving himself exposed on the quiet street in only his shoes and red boxers. “Make sure you get me from my good side.” He nodded as he tossed her his phone and ran towards the end of the block.

* * *

“You know that was actually pretty liberating.” Pete boasted as he held the door open for Helena.

“I’m sure it was. I would have gladly done it naked rather than doing this.” She groaned as they entered the bookstore.

“And I’m sure everyone would have loved  _that_  video but they are going to forever love this one more.” He replied highly amused, recording her as she made her way towards the Science Fiction section of the store.

Helena stopped and quickly turned to face Pete. “Claudia, I have invented many astounding things but I have something very special in mind for you for suggesting this. I  _assure_  you, I will not let this slide.” She said looking directly into the phone’s lens before she grabbed a book off the shelf and walked in the direction of the counter. She was about to place the book down when she quickly turned and walked back towards the shelf.

“What are you doing?” Pete asked confused.

“I cannot do this. I refuse to do this!” She said adamantly as she returned the book to the shelf.

“Hey, we are already here and we all know it isn’t true. Especially Myka.” He said believing that she needed to hear the support of the person who meant the most to her.

“Pete, this is incredibly difficult for me.” She said so quiet that Pete wasn’t sure he’d even heard it.

He stopped recording as he stepped closer to her and laid a hand on her shoulder. “I know it is and I  _am_  sorry. But you and I know the truth, heck I bet even the bookworm behind the counter knows too.” He watched her eyes travel to the owner before settling back on him. “It doesn’t matter what you say H.G, at the end of the day, we, your  _family_  know you and we know the truth.” He gave her shoulder a squeeze before stepping back. “If you really do not want to do this then I understand and we can leave right now.” He said reassuringly and his eyes confirmed his offer. She sighed and grabbed the book back from the shelf.

“You are right Pete. The people who matter to me most know the truth and that’s what is important.” She gave a defiant nod and walked towards the register.

The man exchanged pleasantries with her and quietly discussed the other works by the author. As Pete approached, Helena mumbled something.

“What was that?” The man asked.

“I said,” She took a deep breath before loudly declaring. “Jules Verne is the  _true_  father of science fiction.” Pete could feel the frustration coming off her like a wave and waited for the imminent outburst.

“I guess we’ll just have to agree to disagree love.” The man said proudly as he rang up her order.

“What?” She asked, not having heard his response.

“H.G. Wells is the  _true_  father of science fiction! Maybe you should give his works a read.”

Helena was speechless but couldn’t contain her smile. “Thank you.” She smiled warmly at the man and accepted her change.

* * *

“Was that as bad as you were expecting?” Pete asked as they stood outside the store.

“No, that went rather well actually.”

“You mean after he declared his love for you?”

“Yes.” She laughed.

“I’m more of a Vernian myself.” He declared as he grabbed the copy of  _‘Journey to the Centre of the Earth’_ from her and examined it.

“Only because his movies were not as dreadful as mine.” She counted but even thinking of the mistakes the movies had made of her books couldn’t erase the smile she now wore proudly.

“Obviously.” He smiled at her and handed her back the book so he could take his phone from his pocket. “I am going to get Claudia to turn this into a message tone for me.” He teased and played her the declaration.

“You do and I’ll see that you shall share in the punishments along with her.”

Pete gulped and Helena walked ahead of him smirking. She was finding it all too easy to mess with him and wasn’t about to quit yet. “Come along, we have a park to get to.”

“You just can’t wait to see Myka again. Especially in that outfit.”

“Right you are.”

 


	14. Tongue Torture

Pete and Helena were the first to arrive at the agreed upon location for their next task, they were seated at a table in a small park which was located a short walk from a small market district.

“Will you stay still?” Helena groaned. She had spent the past ten minutes watching him constantly fidget and pace around the table as they awaited the arrival of the others.

“I’m starving!” Pete whined, rubbing his hand over his stomach causing Helena to roll her eyes.

“You  _just_  ate.”

“That was an hour ago and all this running around has made me hungry.”

“I’m sure you won’t be so hungry once this task is over.”

* * *

 

“I  _really_  hope that Steve or Abigail get to choose for me because Myka and Claudia know my weaknesses and I have no doubt they would use them against me.”

“Holy Crap H.G! What happened to your hair?!” Claudia exclaimed as she gawked at the unrecognisable orange mane that was now Helena’s hair.

“This one here.” She pointed to Pete who put his hands up in defence.

“ _I_  wasn’t the one who got impatient, that was all you. Nice hair by the way Claude.” He said of her vibrant blue, shoulder length hair.

“Thanks, nice doo too.” She nodded at his green hair. “So did you enjoy your dare H.G?” Claudia teased but the mischievous smile she had been wearing vanished as Helena’s trademark glare was directed at her.

“You are wicked.”

“Did you actually do it?” Abigail asked as Claudia struggled to find her voice.

“You bet she did.” Pete boasted as he retrieved his phone to show her the video.

* * *

“So who danced with the doll?” Pete asked after they’d watched the video which Helena admitted to finding amusing even though it was at her expense.

“Claudia did, until the force of the water tore the doll in half.”

“And let me tell you that hurt more than getting waxed.” She cringed as she recalled the pain.

“Speaking of wax, did you know candles are a very popular item at the adult store?” Helena asked innocently.

“Did she actually go into the shop?” Claudia asked in disbelief as she directed the question to Pete.

“I had to leave because she was asking the guy about every item in the place.”

“Well how else was I supposed to know what each item was used for? There have been marvellous advancements in that department since my time and I was curious.” Helena said wistfully.

“Curious? You came out of the shop with a huge black bag. I’d say you were more than curious.”

“You purchased sex toys?” Claudia asked. “Wait. No. I don’t want to know. Or do I?” She raised an eyebrow at her.

“Are you familiar with the Pocket-Rocket?”

Claudia instantly blushed and mumbled that she had heard of it before Helena continued speaking. “There was also a unique leather swing along with a great deal of other leather items including a harness attached to a rather large phallus.”

“OKAY! That is more than I ever needed to know. Ever!” Pete said loudly, begging for that to be the end of the discussion.

“I did not purchase those items, I was merely fascinated by them, although..” She teased.

“No! No more talk of that please.” He begged as he covered his ears.

“Is that Steve?” Abigail asked as she looked behind them where Myka and Steve were approaching.

All thoughts of Helena’s purchases were instantly forgotten as everyone’s attention was now on the new arrivals.

“Nice haircut Lex Luther.” Pete laughed.

“I think he looks more like Professor Xavier or Dr Evil.” Claudia teased.

“Wait, since you are a Buddhist, if I rub your head do I get to make a wish?”

“That only works if you rub the belly. But it’s worth a try.” Claudia laughed as she approached Steve and rubbed his bald head. “Whoa that is incredibly smooth.”

As everyone paid attention to Steve, Helena’s attention was solely on Myka who had yet to take her eyes away from Helena. She watched as Myka continued to bite her lower lip trying to contain her laughter. “Out with it darling.”

“What colour were you going for?” She asked as she stepped forward and boldly grabbed the end of an orange lock of Helena’s hair.

“Red. Your hair looks lovely as always.” She smiled and stepped forward a tad more and her heart raced as Myka’s eyes dropped to her lips. She closed the remaining distance between them and cupped Myka’s cheek before she leaned her head forward.  

Myka could feel Helena’s warm breath on her lips and was a second away from kissing her when Steve mentioned her name, dispelling her from the moment yet again. As she stepped out of the embrace she groaned at yet another interruption from an opportunity to finally kiss Helena. She couldn’t help herself today, knowing that Helena returned her feelings had lifted an enormous weight from her shoulders and since Helena’s offer to help with the kissing task that morning, she was determined to make it happen.

Helena was frustrated by the interruption also but Myka’s obvious annoyance at being interrupted again was adorable. She was unsure if the others had noticed their almost kiss but if any of them had they had chosen not to mention it.

“What is it?” Abigail asked Steve.

“We are engaged.” He laughed as he informed them of their successful completion of the proposal task.

“Claudia and I are too.” Abigail stated cheerfully.

“I denied Pete’s proposal.” Helena said proudly as a chorus of gasps was heard.

“What did you do to piss her off?” Claudia asked Pete.

“The hair.” He said. He had known she would punish him at some stage for his suggestion of it and looking back he wasn’t so surprised that she’d chosen to say no to the proposal as his payback.

“No, he  _made_  me get a piercing.”

“Made?” Steve asked.

“Where?!” Claudia asked looking at her ears for any new piercing.

“Use your imagination, it was worth the 100 points though.” She smirked as jaws dropped. No sooner than the words had left her mouth when five sets of eyes immediately lowered to look at her chest for any signs of protrusions. Helena’s eyes were solely focused on Myka. She’d gotten the precise reaction she knew she’d receive from her as Myka quickly averted her eyes as a deep blush warmed her checks and spread rapidly to her chest and ears.

“Alright, I think that’s more than enough bad imagery for one day.” Pete said shaking his head to clear the image of Helena’s piercing from his mind.

“Hey!” Helena protested.

“You know what I mean.” He waved his hand at her to say that it was meant to be taken light-heartedly. “So where’s everyone at for points?”

* * *

After a few minutes catching each other up on the completed tasks the scores were tallied up to  determine that Team Bedrock was in the lead on 773 points, followed by Team Rugrats on 730 with Team Scooby trailing on 670. There were still hundreds of points to obtain so it was still anyone’s competition to win.

Once Pete had finished his victory dance for having the lead, he reminded them why they were in this specific park. It was close by to a small market district that was perfect for their sixteenth task which was to select any food or drink item for an opposing team member.

“So how do we do this?” Steve asked.

“I’ve figured that out.” Claudia said as she produced a plastic bag and removed the hat they had used earlier that morning, inside were the six straws and scraps of paper with everyone’s names written on them. “Everyone take a straw, whichever team member gets the long straw first gets to pick a remaining name from the hat. Whoever you end up with will be your opponent for the remainder of the competition.”

The pairs were settled, Pete and Abigail, Claudia and Steve and Myka and Helena. With time against them everyone agreed that they had only ten minutes to select any food or drink for their opponent to consume and return to the table.

They were all gathered around the table with their various items concealed in bags.

“Who would like to go first?” Pete asked smiling. He was certain he’d picked out a winning product for Abigail, knowing that if she had chosen it for him he would surely fail the task. “Just remember, in order to get the 40 points,  _BOTH_  members of the team must finish whatever has been chosen for them. If one of you fails, you both fail.”

“I’ll brave the waters and go first, what ghastly thing have you chosen for me love?” Helena asked as she looked at the small green bag sitting on the table in front of Myka.

“Well, I know that these were not around in your day.” She opened the bag and grabbed out three small hard candies. “So I chose these hoping that you have yet to experience them.”

“What are they?” Helena held out her hand for Myka to hand over the candy. She turned them in her hand curiously. She had tried many things in the years since she had awoken in the future including a large variety of candies but she had never tried these before.

“Okay H.G. whatever you do, do not spit them out.” Pete said seriously as he stood beside her.

“What are these?” She asked as she continued to inspect the hard candy.

“Extremely sour candy.” Pete explained. He was just as curious to see how she would react to the new item but needed her to understand what it was so she wouldn’t be as shocked when the sensation struck her tastebuds for the first time.

“Really?” She asked Myka who offered a mischievous smirk before nodding. 

She took one of the lollies from her left hand and brought it to her nose. It smelled sweet so she figured they couldn’t be too bad so she tossed it into her mouth. They all watched highly amused as her face scrunched up in disgust and she spit the candy out of her mouth.

“Nooooo!” Pete yelled as he lunged forward to catch it but was beaten by Helena’s hand. He breathed a loud sigh of relief.

“That is revolting!” She said looking at Myka across the table who was laughing wholeheartedly. “You laugh now darling but just wait until you taste what I have chosen for you.”

“Whatever it is it will be worth it because seeing you try that was the best thing to happen today.”

“So far.” She smirked. The implication caused Myka to blush, something she was finding incredibly difficult to prevent that day.

“Yeah yeah, you two can continue your flirting later.” Pete rolled his eyes and clapped his hands together, causing Myka’s blush to deepen. “Try again H.G and this time  _don’t_ spit it out. It’ll only be sour for a little bit.”

They watched as she successfully ate all three lollies. “They’re actually not so bad once you get past the initial sour hit.” She said proudly as she grabbed another candy, causing Myka to roll her eyes playfully at her.

“You want to go next Jinksy?” Claudia asked excitedly.

“Not really but I will do it anyway.”

She reached into the small brown bag she had on the table and pulled out the item she had chosen for him. “Oh come on.” He whined as she held out a medium sized onion for him.

“You don’t have to do it if you don’t want.” Claudia teased.

“It’s alright Steve, you aren’t going on your date tonight.” Myka said trying to be reassuring as he started to peel the onion.

“Date? Claudia and Pete asked in unison.

“It’s not confirmed yet but I did ask someone out to dinner tomorrow night.” Steve smiled as he thought of the very attractive officer he had met that morning. He had been conversing with him via text throughout the day and was anxiously awaiting his reply about dinner.

“You sly dog!”

“Who is he? Do we know him? Is he cute?” Claudia asked excitedly, trying to contain a squeal at her best friend’s news. It was the first time since things had ended with Liam once again that Steve had admitted to even showing an interest in anyone. She couldn’t help her excitement if she tried.

“His name is Damien, he’s a police officer, absolutely gorgeous and no you don’t know him. We met today when I flirted my way out of a ticket.”

“Way to go Steve!”

“I want full details.” Claudia said seriously.

“Later, I promise. Right now I have an onion to eat.” He grabbed it from her and started to peel it. “Thanks for this by the way.” He said sarcastically as he bit into the onion. A minute later his eyes started to water and he was begging for a drink of anything.

“You gonna finish it?” Claudia laughed as she wiped away a tear of joy.

“I don’t want to.” He wiped his eyes.

“It’s okay, you don’t have to.” Myka assured him. She knew they needed these extra points if they wanted to stand a chance of winning the competition but she wasn’t going to make him suffer through this task any longer.

“No. I can do this!” He said determinedly and took another bite. He chewed once and dry heaved. Claudia was cringing at the sight between bouts of laughter. He successfully swallowed the bite and followed it off by quickly eating the final piece. Once he’d swallowed it he laid his head on the table. “That officially sucked.”

“You did brilliantly Steve and I promise whatever my item is I will consume it.” Myka stated as she patted him on the back.

“Thanks Myka. Claudia your turn.”

“I think that’s fair. What did you manage to find for me?”

“You’re favourite.” He laughed as he placed a small tin on the table and opened it. Claudia’s face instantly lost all colour and she looked like she was about to be sick.

“I can’t do it. Sorry.” She said as she looked at Abigail and away from the tin of Anchovies. An item that everyone knew she hated and refused to eat.

“No need to apologise, I don’t think I’d be able to eat them also.” She smiled reassuringly at her.

“Nicely played Steve.”

“I thought so.” He laughed and ate one of the fish, anything to get the taste of onion to dissipate.

“Since Claudia and I are out of the running, what item did you choose for me Pete?” Abigail asked.

“Consider it your lucky day, for I chose you a bottle of exceptionally hot Tabasco Sauce.” He grinned as he handed her the bottle and grabbed a small bottle of milk from the same bag. “I wasn’t going to make you suffer without something to cool the burn.”

“That was very kind of you.” Abigail laughed and shared a mischievous smile with Claudia. “Would you like your item now?”

“Lay it on me.”

Claudia handed her a white paper bag that she handed to Pete. He looked inside and smiled as he produced a small chocolate éclair. “Is this it?”

“Yes, I couldn’t find anything horrible for you and therefore wasted my time by being too picky. I didn’t want to give you a free pass so I settled on the closest thing at the time which just so happened to be that éclair.”

Steve’s skin crawled at such a blatant lie but he held his tongue and kept his face blank. He was intrigued to now see just what was so special about the pastry.

“Aww, thank you. I do love me a delicious pastry and éclair’s are high on the list.”

“Won’t be for much longer.” Claudia mumbled loud enough for Steve to hear making him smile.

He brought it to his lips, took a large bite and savoured the flavour. His face turned red and he turned away from them all quickly and spat the éclair to the ground. “What..the..hell..was...that?!!” He asked between bouts of dry heaving as everyone laughed. “It  _burns_!” He cried out once he’d stopped heaving. Abigail grabbed the bottle of milk he had purchased and handed it to him which he skulled.

“An éclair.” She smirked.

“That was not an éclair!”

“I might have filled it with wasabi.” She laughed.

“You are wicked doc.” He said after he drank the last mouthful of milk from the bottle.

“I have my moments.”

After the laughter had died down it was Myka’s turn at the task. If she succeeded with the item Helena had chosen for her, she and Steve would be the only team to achieve the points.

“Are you ready for this darling?” Helena asked and her eyes held the familiar mischievous gleam that Myka knew meant she was about to fall prey to Helena’s carefully constructed plan. Not that she really minded.

“Do I even want to know?”

“I promise you, I would not make you eat or drink anything revolting.” She said sincerely and Myka knew that Helena was being honest.

“Okay.” Myka picked up the only bag that had yet to be opened and pulled out the item inside. She laughed as she looked at the can in her hand. “This is it?”

“Uh-oh.” Claudia said quietly to Steve. “This should be interesting.”

“You have to drink the whole can to get the points.” Pete said.

“I’ve seen Claudia drink hundreds of these, this will be easy.” And it was. She practically skulled the small can and resisted the impulse to burp as she finished the energy drink that contained an overwhelming amount of sugar. She high fived Steve triumphantly and smiled at Helena.

“Thank you for going easy on me.”

“Always darling.” Helena smirked. She knew that Myka rarely had sugar and she was well aware of the effect the drink had had on Claudia. She had chosen the drink knowing that it would take some time to affect her and was eagerly looking forward to a hyperactive Myka Bering, especially since they were about to spend a fair amount of time alone for the next task.

“Now that this task is done, let’s get on to the next one.” Claudia announced and stood from the table.


	15. Fun At The Fair

The group stood at the entrance and looked at the wonder before them. It was late afternoon so the carnival was in full swing with the smell of corndogs and the sound of laughter in the air. Helena was the most in awe as she scanned her surroundings. It was her first time at a carnival in over a century and it was immensely different to the ones she had intended. The bright colours of the attractions created a warm atmosphere that she couldn’t wait to surround herself with.

As Helena continued to take in her surroundings Myka’s sole attention was focused on watching her. Her childlike wonderment was enchanting and Myka refused to look away, not wanting to miss a moment of it.

Task 17 was a best of three competitions between each pair. They could challenge their partner to anything at the carnival and the first one to score two wins would receive 50 points for their team.

The instant Claudia entered the carnival she announced to the group that she and Steve would meet up with them later. Before Steve had a chance to say goodbye, Claudia had grabbed him by the elbow and whisked him away from the group.

Once out of earshot of the others she voiced what had been on her mind for the past several hours. Steve knew what this was about. He’d received two more texts from Claudia telling him that things were getting strange with her and Abigail.

“I really need to talk to you about Abigail.”

“What about her?” Steve asked nonchalantly. He knew what she wanted to talk about but he knew it was important to have her voice her concerns instead of him creating conclusions for her.

“You know what.” She groaned to which Steve shrugged. “The kiss.” She whispered exasperatedly.

“What about it?”

“What about it!? She kissed me Steve!” She stated waving her hands infront of her.

“Yeah but you kissed her too right?” He asked as they walked past the numerous sideshow attractions on their way towards the rides.

“Well yeah.” Claudia said quietly, barely loud enough for Steve to hear it.

“And you liked it?”

“No.” She answered quickly and was met with an eye role from Steve. “I don’t know.” He raised an eyebrow at her lie waiting for her to admit to the truth. “Okay!” She stated loudly and stopped walking. “It was nice, more than nice actually which is why I am freaking out .”

“You know it doesn’t have to mean anything though?”

“But I felt something when I kissed her and I don’t know what that means or what I’m meant to think about it and I’m freaking out not because of the kiss but because it was with Abigail. Abigail who is my friend. Key word _, friend_!” She rambled in one long breath. “What do I do?”

“First, take a deep breath before you pass out.” He said concerned. He could see how distressed the whole thing was making her and knew that in typical Claudia fashion she would get herself all worked up until it reached an explosive conclusion. “What you do is take some time to figure out your feelings and don’t jump to conclusions. You don’t have to decide on your feelings right away and you certainly don’t have to act on them if you choose not to.”

“But she’s Abigail Steve. I can’t have  _feelings_  for her.”

“Why not?” He asked seriously. Claudia’s tried to speak but no words would form. With all the thoughts running rampant in her heads she couldn’t decide on a truthful answer as to why she shouldn’t feel something for Abigail.

Seeing that she wasn’t going to answer him, Steve decided to save her from her thoughts and suggested that she pick their first challenge. She looked around at their surrounding for the first time and her attention was immediately focused on the Haunted House ride. She laid down the challenge; the first one of them to scream would lose the round. 

* * *

“Oh sweet heavenly scent!” Pete proclaimed as he caught whiff of a nearby food vendor. “How about it ladies, care to indulge in a little bit of carnival delights?” He asked Helena, Abigail and Myka who followed after his beeline for the food.

“What do you recommend I try?” Helena asked Myka who was standing beside her trying to decide what to get for herself.

“Since this is your first time at a carnival I’d recommend as little food as possible if you plan to try any of the rides.”

“In that case I’d like to challenge you to a battle of wits; that is if you think you can best me.” She playfully challenged.

“Oh I have no doubt of that.” Myka playfully retorted. “Since we will be foregoing the rides I recommend you try the cotton candy.”

Myka gave her order to the vendor who whipped up the cotton candy for her and Helena to share and handed her two cans of drink. “Here you are.” Myka said as she handed her the can of Fanta.

“I see you liked the drink I chose for you earlier.” Helena smiled and gestured towards the energy drink Myka had purchased for herself.

“I admit, it wasn’t so bad.”

* * *

Myka was ecstatic to finally have a moment alone with Helena. Well she would have been if people would stop asking to have their photos taken with the costumed duo, mistaking them as members of the carnival. After the third dozen or so picture was taken Myka was far from impressed and boldly took Helena’s hand and led her in the direction of the sideshows.

Once they had reached their destination Myka stopped to survey the various games surrounding her. She felt a gentle squeeze of her right hand and it was then that she realised that she was still holding hands with Helena. Her heart raced at both her close proximity to Helena and the intense gaze she was receiving from her. Helena’s eyes fell to her lips and she closed the remaining distance between them leaning into Myka before tilting her head forward. Myka closed her eyes in anticipation. She felt Helena’s warm breath caress the skin below her ear.

“Which game first?” She purred causing Myka to shudder against her. It took Myka several moments to register what Helena had said. She felt Helena step away from the embrace and noticed the smug, satisfied smirk she was boasting.

“You are a vixen Helena Wells.”

“And you are beautiful Myka Bering.” Helena replied. The response causing Myka to blush again but causing her stomach to flutter at the honesty with which Helena had spoken and the warmth that was conveyed in her eyes. Myka knew that this was the moment and so she moved to close the gap between them to finally kiss her.

“How about it ladies?” A scrawny man in the booth that they had stopped infront of asked. “Fancy a try to win a prize?”

“Seriously!” Myka groaned and Helena chuckled as she leaned forward and kissed Myka’s cheek. Myka wanted to reach for her as she made her way to the booth but her body was numbed from the sensation and she was momentarily incapacitated.

“What do you say darling?” She turned around to face her and her smirk was gone, the warmth in her eyes was replaced with excitement. “Care to try to outsmart me?”

Myka looked at the booth. It was the standard duck pond game. The aim was to launch a rubber frog from a seesaw and try to land it on a rotating lily-pad in the hopes of winning a stuffed toy.

“You are so going down Wells!” Myka stated confidently as she pulled a note from her pocket and picked up her mallet.

* * *

Abigail finished off her fries and chased them down with a refreshing bottle of orange juice while Pete finished off his own fries along after eating two corndogs and a donut.

“It’s about time don’t you think?” Abigail asked and he thought she was referring to him finishing his food until she pointed to a spot in the distance where Myka and Helena were laughing and standing intimately close to each other.

“Absolutely. I was beginning to think they would never admit their feelings to each other, I’m happy to be wrong.” He continued to observe them for a few moments more before returning his attention to Abigail. “So, do you prefer games or rides when it comes to carnivals?”

“Definitely rides.” She said gleefully as she scanned from ride to ride, itching to ride one as soon as possible.

“How about we ride as many rides as possible until one of us calls mercy or throws up?” Pete offered.

She thought it over, the prospect of throwing up was certainly unappealing but as she looked at the various rides she was struck with an idea and she agreed to his suggestion insisting he select the first ride.

Pete’s eyes bulged as they landed on a boat that was hanging upside down in the air. “That one!” He declared excitedly and Abigail swore she saw him skip at one stage as they made their way towards the queue.

“I haven’t been on this ride since I was in college.” Pete said looking up at the boat which had just completed a very fast 360 rotation and was now suspended once again upside down in the air.

“I’ve never been on this ride.”

“Are you nervous?” Pete teased.

“Slightly.” She admitted. Pete placed his arm around her shoulder and pulled her into a sideways hug.

“I promise it is more thrilling than it is terrifying.” He said trying to reassure her.

“Thanks but I don’t think that helped.”

Their turn arrived. Pete took the seat on the outside with Abigail seated beside him. The ride attendee walked along in the small gap infront of them to ensure they were all secured in their seats before stepping off the boat to return to the control station. He pressed a button that caused the seats to press in even tighter to ensure that everyone was as safely secured as possible. Unfortunately for Pete it pressed into his stomach and shifted the contents of his stomach.

The ride started off slowly moving backwards and forward before picking up momentum. Abigail and Pete held on to the hand grips tightly and braced themselves as the boat did a quick 360 before abruptly stopping upside down. Pete felt as though he was about to throw up and was relieved when the ride moved forward again. He was fortunate enough to see out the rest of the ride with the contents of his stomach not reaching the surface. Once the ride had stopped and his harness was released he bolted down the ramp to a nearby table that was close to a rubbish can.

“That was exhilarating.”  Abigail announced enthusiastically as she sat opposite him.

“Yeah sure.” Pete mumbled while trying to focus on his breathing.

“Are you alright?” She noticed that all colour had drained from his face and the excitement he held before the ride had vanished.

“Yeah, just need a few minutes to recover.”

“Would you like a drink?”

“No, just some fresh air, but thanks.” He said sincerely. As Abigail sat with him, giving him a moment to recover she surveyed the area for their next ride. She spotted the perfect ride and with Pete’s current condition she knew it would be miraculous if he made it through the ride intact. She hoped he’d see sense and forfeit the task, it was only 50 points after all.  

“Come on, I’ve found our next ride.” She smiled and helped him to stand.

“Which one?”

“The Hurricane.” Pete gulped. He knew the ride well and he was still reeling from the previous ride. He was getting a bad vibe, well so he thought; he may have been mistaking it for the nausea that was currently out of control in his stomach.

“Can we come back to that one in a bit?” Pete asked and Abigail knew that she’d made the right selection.

“Only if you agree that I win this task?”

The task, the reason they were partaking in these rides in the first place. He wanted that vacation badly and knew that winning these points would greatly help his chance of winning the competition. He wasn’t about to hand the points over without a fight. “No way lady, I’m going to win these points and extend my lead.”

“If you say so.” She laughed and continued to the ride certain that she knew what the outcome would be.

The ride consisted of 6 cars in a circle that held a total of 4 people in each, 2 in front and 2 in back. Pete and Abigail were directed towards the only remaining seats where a ten year old boy was seated in the back. Pete sat beside him on the outside leaving Abigail to have the seat in the front.

The bar locked into place across their legs and the ride started. They started moving in a circle picking up speed and height. Once they had reached the rides peak height Pete knew what was coming next. The ride dropped suddenly and then bounced back up. A few bounces was all it took and Pete covered his mouth with both hands to stop the vomit escaping but it was no use so he tipped his head to the side of the ride and let it go. Cries were heard throughout the crowd below as they witnessed Pete repeatedly unleash the contents of his stomach.

As soon as the ride operator saw Pete begin to vomit he pressed for the ride to end and waited for it to come to a complete stop before letting everyone free of their safety bars. Abigail was surprised that the ride had ended so quickly so she turned in her seat to ask if Pete was alright. What she saw made her laugh heartily as she quickly bolted from the car and away from Pete who was still throwing up over the side of the car. The ten year old boy next to him desperately climbed to Abigail’s vacant seat and ran to his parents who were watching in horror.

The ride attendant waited until Pete was finished before approaching him. “I am  _so_  sorry.” Pete groaned.

“It’s alright. Happens more often than you’d think.”

“Just give me a moment and I’ll clean it up.”

“You’re alright, it’s my job and besides you should really go and get cleaned up.” He pointed to his face to indicate that Pete had made quite a mess of it.

“Thanks and again I am really sorry.” He apologized again as he climbed off the ride and sought out Abigail who was trying to contain her laughter.

“Oh Pete, how are you feeling?”

“About as good as I look.”

“Come, let’s get you cleaned up.”

* * *

Claudia and Steve exited the Haunted House with Claudia laughing uncontrollably. “Your face! That was priceless.”

“Yeah yeah, I recall hearing you scream a couple of times.” He laughed too. They had each screamed their fair share during the ride with Steve screaming first when a hand had grabbed him from behind causing him to almost leap out of his seat.

“Yeah but you squealed like a little girl.”

“I did not.” He denied.

“Does your lie detector go off when  _you_  are lying?” Claudia asked thoughtfully.

“I did not squeal!”

“You so did and you screamed first so I win round one.” She said proudly.

“Fine but I get to pick the next one and I challenge you to the shooting gallery.” He smiled pointing to their next challenge.

The aim was to try and shoot down a certain number of moving ducks before the time was up to win a prize. Steve knew even before Claudia’s protest began that he would win the round having hit every shot he fired with ease. He was impressed with Claudia’s shooting. She had kept on par with him up until the last few shots, her nerves getting the best of her.

With the score now tied they were searching the carnival for the tiebreaker event. “How about that?” Steve pointed to the giant inflatable castle.

“What about it?” Claudia asked confused. It was after all considered to be a children’s ride.

“A race, first one to successfully climb to the top, slide to the bottom and make it back to the entrance wins.”

“Oh it is on Jinksy! Prepare to be amazed by my athletic prowess.”

He laughed and was glad to see that her exuberance had returned.

* * *

“Lucky shot.” Helena declared after Myka had successfully knocked over the stack of pins to secure the win for the second round, bringing them to a tie.

“Years of fencing have helped perfect my accuracy.” Myka playfully boasted.

Helena scoffed, “Perfected your accuracy? You weren’t very accurate landing the frogs on the lilypads.”

“I let you have that one.” She tried to keep her face blank but a smile was tugging at her lips and she had to turn away from Helena before she let her mask fall.

“I believe we are even then because I too allowed you to win this one by downplaying my skills.”

“Then I believe we need a final round, one that neither of us can throw.”

“What do you have in mind?”

Myka looked around the carnival for something that they could compete at that would make put them both on an even playing field. She could challenge her to the shooting gallery but Myka held the advantage there. Looking around at all of the games it was clear that Myka had the advantage of having tried them all at one time or another but she finally settled on the one game that had always proven the most difficult for her. It was very basic, throw a softball into a large bucket and have it stay in the bucket.

They each received three balls and needed to have one stay in the slanted bucket to win one of the plush bears hanging on the walls behind the buckets.

“Good luck.” Myka said as she gently tossed her first ball in having it hit the base of the bucket and bouncing out.

“Oh darling, you shall have to do better than that.” Helena teased and threw her first ball, it too hitting the bucket and bouncing out.

“Yes because that is how it is done.” Myka laughed and tossed the second ball. It landed with less force than the first time but still bounced out of the bucket.

Helena leaned closer to Myka and threw her next shot, successfully landing it in the bucket. She faced Myka and smiled, “It’s far easier than it looks.”

“Really?” Myka picked up her last ball and readied herself to throw, she was about to toss the ball when she felted Helena lean into her back and place her right hand over her own.

“It’s all in the wrist.” She whispered into Myka’s ear before moving her arm to toss the ball. Myka hadn’t even realised that it had landed in the bucket successfully as she was too preoccupied in feeling Helena step away from her to retrieve her last remaining ball.

Myka was lost for words as she watched Helena successfully land the ball in the bucket, securing her the task win. Her mind finally stopped running rampant when the stall attendee asked her which prize she would like, so far they had each obtained a small plush animal each, Myka a blue and yellow lizard and Helena an awful imitation of Nemo.

“Can we combine our prizes and get that one up there?” Helena asked the man, having seen Myka eyeing the giant brown bear from the moment they approached the booth.

The attendee agreed and handed the bear to Helena. “For you darling.” She said and handed the bear to Myka.

“Thank you.” Myka said sincerely and was touched by the heartfelt gesture. As soon as she had handed Myka the bear the mischievous spark returned to her eyes.

“Since I’ve won this task I do believe I am deserving of a prize.”

“Yes, I believe you do.” Myka bit her lip, she was intrigued as to where this was about to go. “What are you thinking?”

“I would be honored if you would accompany me on the Ferris Wheel?”

“That’s it?” Myka was a little disappointed; she had not been expecting Helena to suggest that.

“Yes, the last time I rode one it was the original at the Chicago World’s Fair with my partner Wooly. I would like to see how this one compares to the original.”

“That’s all, you just want to see how it compares?” She asked skeptically.

“I may also want an uninterrupted moment alone with you too.” She said and offered Myka her hand to which Myka didn’t hesitate as she grabbed it and let Helena lead them towards the ride. 

* * *

“Are you feeling any better now?” Abigail asked Pete as they walked through the carnival in search of the others. He’d cleaned up nicely, showing no evidence that he’d been sick at all.

“Much. That is the last time I eat before going on rides.”

They walked throughout the carnival for a further ten minutes before finally spotting Steve and Claudia.

“Move kid!” Claudia yelled as she ran past a child at the top of the inflatable castle before diving on Steve’s back as he descended the slide. Pete and Abigail watched as the two scrambled over each other in an effort to make it to the rides entrance.

“Yes!!” Claudia yelled triumphantly. “Team Rugrats wins! In your face Jinksy!”

“You cheated.” He gasped as he tried to catch his breath from the place where he had landed on the ground.

“Nu uh, I won fair and square.”

“Hey guys.” Pete said cheerfully as they approached them.

“Hey!” Claudia said just as cheerful as she smiled at them. “How’d you two do?”

“I won, Pete threw up on a ride.” Abigail announced.

The group laughed heartily for several minutes as they shared their tales. Steve was quiet as he observed Claudia interacting with Abigail and Pete. She seemed at ease, atleast for the time being and he was relieved that she was taking his advice and giving herself time to figure out her feelings.

“He squealed. It is my life mission to make him do that again. You have to hear it!” Claudia declared bringing Steve’s attention back to the conversation.

“I’m sure we can make that happen.” Pete agreed already forming plans in his head.

“Fun. Come on, let’s find the lovebirds and see how they did.” Steve suggested.

They walked throughout the carnival for several minutes before Abigail spotted them. They were perched at the top of the Ferris Wheel with a giant brown bear wedged beside Myka. The group watched as Myka pulled Helena into her and kissed her passionately.

“It’s about time!” Pete declared not taking his eyes away from them.

“Agreed.” Everyone declared as they observed Helena return the kiss.

* * *

“Hello ladies.” Pete said as an oblivious Helena and Myka walked past their friends holding hands.

“Hey.” Myka said smiling broadly.

“Looks like you two had fun up there.”

“Yes, we certainly did.” Myka said as she took advantage of the moment and kissed Helena again, no longer caring about where they were or any unwanted interruptions. The moment at the top of the Ferris Wheel had been perfect.

“You two are adorable.” Claudia declared before throwing her arms around the pair and hugging them tightly. Before any of them knew what was happening they were all enveloped in a group hug.

“Alright. Alright! We love you too.” Myka laughed as she escaped the hug. “But I believe we have a competition to complete.”

“Right you are Mykes. Team Bedrock for the win.” Pete declared and led the way to the exit.


	16. Department Store Chaos

It took all of two seconds after Myka closed the driver’s door before Steve asked her the question she knew he was itching to. “How was that kiss?”

_They were perched at the top of the Ferris Wheel with the giant bear wedged beside Myka and the chairs side, leaving very little room between Helena and Myka, not that either of them minded. The ride had been perfect with Helena sharing with Myka what had inspired her ideas for Myka’s favourite H.G. Wells novel. Myka watched Helena in awe as she recalled the tale with great fondness and passion the entire time.  
Once she’d finished the tale her eyes fell to Myka’s lips and Myka watched her pupils darken with desire. Neither was certain who moved first but as soon as their eyes locked there was no mistaking that _this _was the moment. Perched at the top of the Ferris Wheel overlooking the carnival they shared their first kiss. The moment their lips met they felt a surge of electricity travel throughout their entire bodies. The kiss was sweet and slow but quickly intensified as Myka threaded her hands in Helena’s hair and pulled her closer causing Helena to moan in response. They continued kissing until the ride ended and with the operator freeing them from the safety bar. With great difficulty Myka pried herself from the embrace and stood from the ride loosely holding the bear under an arm. She smiled wholeheartedly when Helena’s hand found hers and they walked away from the ride together._

“Perfect.” Myka said to Steve as she started the vehicle.

“It certainly looked like it.”

* * *

 

Everyone had gathered in the parking lot of the city’s largest store to complete the 18th task. The store was more like fifty stores in one with its vast variety of products and items contained within it.

Task 18 was greatly different to all of the tasks so far. Instead of one or two challenges to complete, they now had five for each group with each task varying in points and difficulty.

“Okay, here are the lists as agreed upon lastnight. Select at random.” Claudia announced as she held out three folded slips of paper for the others to select. Pete and Steve selected for their teams and groaned at the lists they had selected as their fifth task would not end well.

“We have one hour to complete the five tasks and remember that at no point, unless you are arrested of course, can you tell anyone that you are an agent or that this is part of a scavenger hunt.” Claudia declared.

“Here’s hoping we don’t get banned.” Pete said seriously before heading towards the stores entrance and stopping just outside when he noticed his teammate was not beside him.

Helena walked until she was standing directly infront of Myka and laced her fingers with a lock of Myka’s hair.

“Good luck darling.” She purred and placed a chaste kiss on Myka’s lips before stepping away quickly to join Pete.

“Awww you two are adorable.” Claudia laughed and followed after them.

* * *

 

Pete and Helena were fortunate to have received the easiest of the three lists; well everything but the last one, Pete thought.

**Task 1: Dress a mannequin for 10 points.**

“Task one is worth 10 points and it’s an easy one, we just have to dress a mannequin.” Pete explained as he walked towards the clothing section of the store. Helena convinced him to do the leg work while she played lookout.

Pete grabbed the simplest item he could find, a short purple dress and approached a mannequin in the women’s section that was also wearing a dress.  Helena gave him the all clear to proceed with the task so Pete made quick work of divesting the mannequin of the dress and throwing the new one over it. As he was trying to get the last arm through the hole he put too much pressure on the limb causing it to pop out of place. He tried to put it back in place but failed. Helena alerted him to an employee approaching their area which caused Pete to panic and stash the arm amongst a rack of women’s shirts. He jumped as Helena spoke beside him informing them of their tasks success and that they should complete the second one.

**Task 2: Sell an item to a stranger for 15 points.**

“Now we need to sell a product to a stranger.” Helena noticed a man across the aisle looking at jeans and smiled at Pete. “This’ll be but a moment.”

Pete watched as she approached the man, he quickly produced his phone and started filming the exchange. She was right, it only took a smile and a touch on his forearm and the man was swayed into buying the pair of jeans she had handed to him resulting in the easiest 15 points they had earned all day.

* * *

 

**Task 3: Sleep in a bed until a staff member tells you to leave it. Every minute of the task is worth 5 points.**

“Alright I’ll do it.” Helena groaned after losing at Rock, Paper, Scissors to Pete. She located the nearest display bed with a pillow and blanket on it and climbed under the covers. From the moment she had climbed into the bed, Pete had begun filming the evidence.

“Here comes a sales clerk, pretend you’re asleep.” Pete whispered as he walked away from the bed that Helena had spent the past three minutes lying in.

“Excuse me miss, can you please get out of the bed?” The male employee asked politely.

“But it is ever so comfortable.” She smiled innocently at the man who ignored her comment and asked her to vacate the bed again. After a nod from Pete who was watching from nearby, Helena climbed out of the bed and stretched.  The employee’s eyes widened as he looked at Helena’s revealing costume showing off a large portion of her midriff. He tried to speak but couldn’t take his eyes away from Helena’s torso. Pete chose that moment to enter the picture to save the poor guy any further embarrassment.

“So did you like the bed honey?” He asked Helena as he placed his hand on her waist and pulling her close to him. The clerk was relieved but stunned by his attire also.

“Uh, nice costume.”

“Thanks, come on honey, let’s go look at the linen.” Pete said quickly dismissing the employee before escorting Helena to a nearby aisle. Once in the clear he smiled at Helena who raised her eyebrow challengingly at him and motioned to the hand that was still holding her waist. Pete flinched and quickly removed his hand from. “Sorry.”

* * *

 

**Task 4: Build a fort using sheets and blankets. Each item is worth 5 points.**

Pete and Helena stood at the entrance to the bedding section of the monstrous store and began formulating their plan.

“If we tie the sheets together and drape them across the lighting beams, I believe that we can create a convincing fort.” Helena suggested surveying the area.

“That might actually work!” Pete exclaimed as his eyes lit up with excitement. He was more than eager to try and build as large a fort as possible, much larger than any he had previous created.

“All I need are a few long, sturdy ropes that we will drape the blankets over.” Helena explained and was also beginning to become entertained by the idea also.

“Okay, you get the rope and I’ll start tying sheets together.” Pete said ready to go along with whatever possibly crazy plan she had created.

“What do we do if a staff member or security asks us what we are doing?” She asked knowing that what they were about to do would certainly create unwanted attention for them, especially if she could successfully execute her idea.

“That we are from HQ’s design department and we have been assigned here today to create an entrance to the bedding section of the store as part of a new campaign.” Pete said assuredly.

“And they’ll believe that?”

“If working for the warehouse has taught me anything it is that if you tell someone a story with 100% certainty and confidence than they will believe it is true.”

He was proven correct when both a staff member and a security guard had questioned them on what they were doing. They were sceptical in believing their story because of their costumes until Pete explained that they were also running a campaign on a new line of Flintstone’s toys that they would display in the children’s section after they finished the fort. It was a farfetched story but Pete had told it with such conviction that even Helena would have believed it had she not known him.

Once they were in the all clear Pete and Helena went about building the largest fort they could manage with what little time remained. It spread across three aisles and down the length of the short aisles, using a total of 28 sheets giving them a whopping 140 points for task.

“I must say H.G, you and I do make an excellent team when we put our minds to something.” Pete stated proudly as he reveled in their creation.

“I agree. Who knew that you and I would be gifted at building a fort  _together?_ ”

“You kidding?! You’re a master of engineering and I’m the king of building forts.” Pete boasted and gestured to their masterpiece. He was surprised not to hear a reply from Helena so he turned to where she had just been standing and was further surprised to see that she was not there. He scanned his surroundings and laughed loudly when he spotted her walking with determination towards the women’s clothing section seeking to find what had no doubt caught her attention.

With their fourth task completed and Helena completely distracted it left Pete to complete the final task on his own. With it being worth 80 points there was no possible way he was about to pass it up, even if would certainly result in him being banned from the store.

* * *

 

Claudia and Abigail decided that they would complete the easier of their tasks first and headed for the children’s section of the store.

**Task 1: Create a Teddy-bear picnic for 10 points.**

“I’ll get the bears and you get the blanket and picnic supplies?” Claudia asked Abigail who agreed and started searching shelves for the items.

Claudia found the teddy aisle and eagerly grabbed the six nearest teddies from the shelf. She was just about to leave the aisle to return to Abigail when she heard Steve’s laugh from the next aisle. She walked to the head of the aisle and was surprised by what she saw.

Myka was engaged in a duel with two little girls who were giggling as they deflected Myka’s playful swings of her foam sword.

“Myka?” Hearing her name, Myka smiled at Claudia but the momentary distraction gave her young opponents the perfect opportunity to strike their swords at her arm and side. Myka gasped before dropping her sword and feigning her injuries by clutching her sides.

“You got me!” She cried and fell to her knee’s, the two girls jabbing her again between giggles and delighted squeals at their victory.

“And that’s ten points.” Steve announced the completion of task one as he joined Claudia.

“You’ve finished one already?” Claudia asked flabbergasted. They’d only just entered the store and already she and Abigail were trailing.

“Yeah and we are about to attempt task 4.”

“Eek, well I guess I better get to it find my partner.” Claudia announced and was about to leave them be when she grabbed one of the teddies that were stored in her arms and tossed it to Steve.

“This place really does have everything.” She laughed exiting the aisle, leaving Steve laughing at the Scooby Doo teddy she had tossed at him.

With the successful completion of arranging a Teddy Bear picnic in an aisle, Abigail and Claudia remained in the toy section to attempt the next task.

* * *

 

**Task 4: Shoot Nerf bullets at people. Everyone you hit is worth 5 points.**

Squealing and laughter had erupted in the toy section of the store, more so than usual. It had attracted the attention of the department manager so he followed the source of the noise deep into the heart of the toy section.

“Oh you can run but you can’t hide!” He heard an adult female proclaim which was immediately followed by a maniacal laugh and several children squealing delightedly. He walked quicker to the aisle he suspected the noise to be coming from and turned into it. The moment he entered the aisle he felt something hit him directly between the eyes. “Oh crap!” Claudia said as she momentarily froze on the spot.

The manager was surprised as he saw Claudia standing at the opposite end of the aisle holding a Nerf gun. “What do you think you are doing?” He asked annoyed.

“I am  _so_  sorry about that. It’s my niece’s birthday and she wanted me to buy her a Nerf gun but I wasn’t sure which one to get her so I had to test one to determine that it was the most accurate as she is  _crazy_  picky about the accuracy of the ones she already owns.” Claudia babbled nervously hoping he would believe her tale. “Anyway, I think i’ve found the right one.” She concluded and looked at the manager, dreading what he had to say.

After receiving a warning from the manager she breathed a sigh of relief and turned to find Abigail who was standing nearby trying to contain her laughter. “You rambled when you get nervous.” She teased.

“I wasn’t nervous.” Claudia denied.

“I think it’s endearing.” Abigail smiled at Claudia’s instantaneous blush.

After her talk with Steve at the carnival, Claudia pushed her immediate thoughts aside for the moment and changed the subject. “How many points did I score?”

Abigail accepted the change of subject with ease and replied. “Including the manager, 105.”

* * *

 

**Task 3: Test out an exercise bike in the gym section. 5 points for every minute until asked to get off it.**

Abigail volunteered to complete this task as Claudia had taken the heat for the Nerf task. Ignoring the  _“For Display Only”_  sign on the bike, Abigail climbed onto the seat and started peddling as soon as Claudia gave her the go ahead that she was recording her.

Just shy of three minutes later a staff member approached them and informed Abigail that she was not permitted to use the equipment. Without missing a beat, Abigail looked at the employee and stated, “I have full membership to this gym.”

Claudia tried hard not to laugh aloud at the unexpected response as she approached the employee and apologised for her friend’s behaviour.

“She doesn’t get out much.” She grabbed Abigail by the elbow and helped her from the bike.

The employee was just about to speak again when they all heard several screams coming from the opposite side of the store. Using the sudden distraction Claudia whisked Abigail away as quickly as she could.

“Who knew you were such a comedian?” Claudia asked once they she was certain they were in the clear.

“There is a lot about me you don’t know.”

“So I am learning about you today.” Claudia smiled and continued to walk with her hand clutching Abigail’s elbow as they made their way to the beauty department.

* * *

 

**Task 2: Cover your teammates face in make up to resemble a clown for 15 points.**

“How did you get those?” Abigail asked impressed as she noticed the two employee vests that Claudia was currently holding.

“Please, I broke into the Warehouse and a Regent facility. Making my way into the staff supply room was a synch.” She handed Abigail a vest and put on her own. “Now everyone will assume we work here.”

“Your brilliance is both scary and amazing.”

“Thank you… I think.”

With them both posing as staff members, no one working at the makeover stations in the beauty department blinked an eye at them as Claudia sat in one of the chairs while Abigail began selecting make-up.

“Do you have any preferences?”

“Are you familiar with Harley Quinn?” Claudia asked and was impressed when Abigail said that she not only knew who she was but that she could paint her face to resemble her somewhat without having to look at a picture for reference. It only took a few minutes before the look was complete, Claudia’s face was pale white aside for a black raccoon mask around her eyes and matching black lipstick.

“Excellent work Doc.” Claudia praised as she viewed her reflection in the mirror and was surprised to see Helena walking briskly behind her as though she had a mission and nothing could stop her from achieving it.

* * *

 

Myka and Steve entered the store knowing that they were in desperate need of points if they wanted to stay in the running to win. Steve was elated to see that Myka was currently on a sugar high from her two large energy drinks and the cotton candy at the carnival. He knew that it was more sugar than she would normally have in a week, let alone in a couple of hours.

Since they were closest to the toy section of the store as they entered they opted to complete Task 1 first.

**Task 1: Duel someone for 10 points.**

Myka had completed the task in minutes so she and Steve decided to go for big points next and made their way to the far side of the enormous store to where the pet section was located.

**Task 4: Tell people that an animal has escaped. 5 points for every person that jumps or screams.**

Steve had performed brilliantly as he managed to make 33 people jump or scream, gaining 165 points for Team Scooby by telling them that a snake had been spotted under a nearby shelf. People had been squealing so loudly that a chain reaction of panic erupted and Steve and Myka knew they had to make a break for it before being discovered as the culprits.

“I believe the next task is up to you.” Steve said as they stood beside a one armed mannequin wearing a purple dress.

“I think I might actually enjoy this one.” She laughed, grabbed a random item from a rack and made her way to the women’s changeroom.

Steve watched her go and was amused to see Helena making her way to Myka.

* * *

 

**Task 2: Confess your sins in a changeroom stall to a stranger for 15 points.**

Myka walked into the changeroom and showed the item of clothing to the woman working the counter who nodded at her to continue through. Myka walked throughout the long hallway until she found a vacant stall next to a woman that had just pulled a curtain shut. She stepped into her stall and closed her own curtain.

Helena entered the changeroom just as Myka closed her curtain. She ignored the clerk who was asking to see the number of items that Helena wanted to try on. She walked to Myka’s stall, her heart beating wildly as she recalled their kiss on the Ferris Wheel and was about to open the curtain when she heard Myka speaking.

“I can’t believe I am about to do this.” Myka said as she held her phone infront of her and knocked on the stall wall.

“Yes?” The woman on the other side of the wall asked.

Myka took a deep breath before willing herself to complete the task. “Forgive me father for I have sinned, it has been eight years since my last confession.” Myka didn’t wait for the woman’s response before continuing with her task. “I have fallen for a colleague and not even an hour ago we kissed at the top of a Ferris Wheel. It was the most amazing kiss of my life and I can’t stop thinking about it and I especially can’t stop thinking about doing it again.”

“Is that so love?” Myka squealed as Helena pulled the curtain back and stepped into the stall.

“Helena!? What are you doing here?” Myka asked panicked.

“This.” Helena said as she stepped against Myka and placed her hand behind Myka’s neck and pulled her down to place a heated kiss against her lips. Myka felt a shiver run over her entire body at the contact. Before Myka could respond Helena pulled away from the kiss as quickly as she had started it and looked at Myka.

Helena went to speak but was cut off as she felt Myka’s lips on hers once again. The kiss quickly deepened with Helena pushing Myka against the wall and letting her hands wonder in her hair. Myka moaned as she felt Helena bite her lower lip before running her tongue soothingly over it. She was about to pull away from the kiss to gain air when a voice from outside the stall caused them to part from the embrace.

“Mam, I asked to see your item.” The woman who had been working the counter asked in a stern tone, clearly annoyed that she had been blatantly ignored by Helena.

Helena stepped out first to give Myka a chance to recompose herself. As she pulled the curtain back the woman was stunned to see a flustered Myka in the stall with her. “I was just helping her with her zipper.” Helena smirked and walked past the attendant, very satisfied with herself.

Myka was amazed that she could still manage to stand after that kiss. Once she realised what had just happened she smiled sheepishly at the attendant. “I’ll just be a minute.” She said and closed the curtain again. She leaned against the wall and unconsciously ran her fingers over her lips. She could hardly believe that that had happened. It was incredible, lasting only mere seconds but it had still managed to leave her light headed and slightly disoriented.

Once she had managed to regain her bearings again, she joined Steve who was grinning broadly at her.

“Have fun in there?” He teased.

“You have no idea.”

* * *

 

**Task 3: Camp out in a tent until told to leave it. 5 points for every minute.**

Myka wished Steve good luck with their final task, knowing that he would certainly need it and set off to complete her final task. She was still reeling from the kiss while smiling ear from ear. She wasn’t sure if her sudden light-headedness was due to the kiss or from her sugar high wearing off, either way she knew she needed to take a time out and get off her feet.

Once she had located a two-man display tent, she grabbed a sleeping bag from a nearby shelf and unzipped the tent. Just as she was about to climb inside she swore she saw a large orange blur quickly pass by the end of an aisle followed by a trail of security guards. She put it down to her mind playing tricks on her and climbed into the tent, zipping it closed behind her. She started recording the evidence and laid down using the sleeping bag as a pillow. Closing her eyes for a minute or two couldn’t hurt, she thought before drifting off to sleep.

* * *

 

**Task 5: 80 Points**

Claudia was amazed that they were successfully completing their fifth task without anyone questioning their credibility as staff members.

She watched as Abigail donned an apron in the home wares department of the store and started cooking a delicious smelling beef stir-fry. Their fifth task was to attempt to cook a meal anywhere in the store. Their performance was so convincing that a small crowd had gathered to watch as Claudia talked up how great the wok that Abigail was using to cook was.

“How about a round of applause for our fantastic chef, Abigail?” Claudia asked the small crowd who clapped and a few even congratulated Abigail as they sampled the food.

“I believe we are finished now right?” Abigail asked.

“Definitely.” She smiled as they escaped the crowd and stood in the cross section of the aisles. “Is that Pete?!” Claudia asked and laughed as she looked ahead of them. Indeed it was.

Pete was successfully completing his fifth task of riding a display bicycle throughout the store. He was currently being chased by four irate security guards who were yelling for him to stop.

“It gets better!” Abigail exclaimed as she pointed to her right. “There’s Steve.”

The girls laughed heartedly as they watched Steve approaching them on a motorised cooler. His fifth task was to ride any motorised vehicle throughout the store. He pulled the vehicle to a stop a few feet away from them.

“Hey guys!” He beamed. “How’s things?”

“Great!” Claudia said but their attention was diverted to the two security officers who were quickly making their way to Steve.

“And that’s my queue.” He laughed before driving away from them with the security guards hot on his heels.

“This will surely end well.” Abigail laughed as they watched him make his escape.

* * *

 

Helena was leaning against the hood of Pete’s vehicle awaiting the arrival of the others when she spotted Pete at the stores entrance being escorted outside by three large security guards who looked very displeased with him.

“There should be a sign saying  _‘For display only’!_ ” Pete yelled at them while throwing his hands in the air before giving up and making his way to his vehicle.

“I take it the bicycle ride went as planned?”

“Precisely.” He smiled. “Are we the only ones finished?” He asked noticing that it was just the two of them. Helena was about to reply when their attention was drawn to the stores entrance again where this time it was Steve being escorted out by security.

“What happened to you?” Pete asked him when he neared them.

“The cooler wasn’t fast enough.” He smiled.

* * *

 

A few minutes later Abigail and Claudia joined them outside and filled them in on their exploits within the store.

“Where’s Myka?” Claudia asked ten minutes later when they realised that they were missing the tall agent and that the hour was almost over.

“Last time I saw her she was headed for the camping section.” Steve said. “I’ll call her.”

Myka heard the loud ringtone which awoke her from her slumber. She pressed answer and said “Hello” groggily.

Once outside Myka was feeling refreshed and glad she had managed to have a power nap, even though it was unintentional. She was determined to give the remaining two tasks her all and hopefully win the competition.

“How long were you in that tent for?” Pete asked, dreading the answer.

“34 minutes which means we gained 170 points. Oh yeah, Team Scooby is making a comeback!” She exclaimed and high fived Steve.

Everyone else was stunned. It was Steve who chose to break the silence first. “So, what happened when H.G. joined you in the changeroom?” He teased and was met with a playful punch from Myka.

“Would you look at that, I think we are running late for our next appointment.” Myka said and briskly walked to her vehicle leaving the question unanswered.

“We don’t have an appointment.” Pete replied but Myka ignored him and continued walking away. “I guess we leave before it gets too late then.” 


	17. Paintball Assassin

With only two tasks remaining each team still had the opportunity to win the competition with Team Rugrats in third on 1,050 points, Team Bedrock in second on 1,083 points and Team Scooby gaining first with 1,150 points thanks to Myka's unintended nap at the department store. With everyone's competitive drive having reached its peak they were all eager when they arrived at the indoor paintball centre for the penultimate task.

"Oh yeah! Now this is more like it!" Pete exclaimed as they stood in the lobby viewing TV screens which were displaying current games taking place in the facility.

"Finally! Something I know I can win at." Steve announced assuredly.

"You keep telling yourself that Jinksy but I've got this." Pete assured him.

"You may have  _mad skills_  with a Tesla but I am the  _king_  of paintball." He playfully argued.

They continued to reassure the other of their prowess until Claudia stepped in to put an end to their testosterone driven battle. "Alright Smith, Western, you can settle this in the arena." She said to before making her way to the receptionists counter. "That is if I don't shoot you both first." She taunted.

"Keep dreaming Donovan, these aren't Tesla's." Pete said as he and the others followed after her.

* * *

 

"Can someone please explain the concept to me?" Helena asked. She was bewildered as to why anyone would voluntarily engage in something that would surely result in pain.

"We split into our teams and the last team or team member to remain paintless wins." Pete explained.

"So the aim is to actually shoot each other with these guns?" She asked Myka as she indicated to the large, plastic, yellow handgun that she was holding.

"Yeah but these pistols are immensely better than the larger rifles with the air canisters, they have far greater force and hurt so much more." Myka explained.

"Are there rules at least?"

"Yes. Everyone must wear masks, the women must wear protective vests and you cannot shoot anyone within six feet of each other." Pete answered as Steve, Abigail and Claudia selected their equipment.

"And what happens if one is to break these rules?"

"You face the firing squad." He casually answered before venturing to join the others and leaving Myka alone with Helena.

"He can't be serious?!" She asked shocked by his answer.

"He's kidding.. kind of." Myka answered sheepishly. "You select one person who will fire  _one_  shot at you from a distance of fifteen feet." She explained as she handed Helena a vest.

"Oh yes and that makes it so much better." Helena replied sarcastically and threw on the vest. "Sixty points for the winner seems a little excessive though."

"You won't think so once you feel the sting of being shot by a paint ball."

"Then it is a good thing I intend to win this challenge." She smirked as she flipped her ponytail over her shoulder and stalked towards the others confidently, leaving Myka to admire her tenacity.

* * *

 

After the instructor had finished explaining how to use their guns they split into their teams and made for separate areas of the arena. Steve and Myka had chosen to conceal themselves in a small wooden shack in the top right corner of the room that gave them a reasonable view through two tiny windows on either side.

Claudia and Abigail opted for high ground which found them hiding on two walls within view of each other and giving them each a decent view of the grounds. While Pete and Helena had decided that they would seek out the others by scouring the ground for them together.

* * *

 

"There! I saw Pete." Myka whispered to Steve before moving to open the shacks door.

"Wait. It's gotta be a trap." He said as he grabbed her shoulder to stall her from leaving.

"Of course. He's obviously the decoy which means Helena isn't far behind." She beamed at the prospect of catching Helena off-guard.

"And you are counting on her not to shoot you." He rolled his eyes and let go of her shoulder.

"I  _know_  she won't shoot me."

She made sure that she was clear before vacating their hiding spot and entering the open. She walked a couple of steps before freezing on the spot when she heard Abigail scream from across the room followed by Pete cheering. That made things easier for her, with Pete on the other side of the room Claudia would most likely be tailing him which she hoped left Helena on her own.

Myka rounded a corner with her gun drawn at her side when she bumped into a warm body. Relying on instinct she drew her gun on the person and found herself looking down the barrel of a bright yellow pistol.

"It would seem destiny is still ensuing we meet at gunpoint darling." Helena purred as she lowered the gun and smiled at Myka through the clear plastic shield of her mask.

"That it is." Myka smirked as she raised her gun so that it was pointed at Helena's chest.

"Myka, you wouldn't dare!" Helena playfully challenged.

"I don't know. I think I owe you for the number of times you've shot me. What is it, three?" She teased.

"Artifact influence does not count." Helena protested as Myka took a step away from her.

"Yes but not all of them were as a result of an artifact, were they?"

Helena opened her mouth to reply but she conceded that Myka was correct. "Very well Myka, I surrender. Have at it." She placed her gun at her feet before closing her eyes to accept her fate. She heard Myka take another step away followed by the squeeze of the trigger and braced for the impact.

Helena was confused when she didn't feel the impact that she had been forewarned about. Even through the vest at such a close range she had expected to feel something but nothing had happened. She opened her eyes to find Myka smirking at her with her gun lowered to her side.

"As if I could ever shoot you." She said and walked until she was a foot away from her.

"I certainly wouldn't have blamed you if you had but I am relieved I don't have to feel the impact from the paintball."

Myka smiled as she removed both of their masks and hooked a finger in Helena's belt, pulling her flush against herself before kissing her sweetly.

"Oh get a room!" Pete announced before shooting Myka in the back which caused her to jump out of the embrace just in time to witness the look of horror that overtook Helena's face.

"Bullseye!" Claudia exclaimed as her shot hit Helena's left buttcheek before a second paintball bypassed the pair and hit Pete in the centre of his chest.

"Noooo!" Pete cried.

"A little sting!? It feels like I've been bitter by a terrier." Helena whined as the pain became apparent.

"Game over Lattimer!" Claudia said gleefully before performing a little victory dance. "Oh yeah Donovan shot Fred Flintstone  _and_  Betty Rubble. Wow, never thought I'd say that."

The three of them looked at Claudia in awe as she had managed to outsmart the three of them with ease.

"You shot me there on purpose!" Helena accused.

"You bet. So where is Jinksy?"

* * *

 

"So on a scale of one to ten, how painful is it being shot in the derriere?" Pete asked as Helena limped the distance back to the waiting area.

"No worse than the nipple piercing…." Helena grunted before freezing on the spot as she realized she'd said that aloud.

"I knew it!" Pete exclaimed as his eyebrows shot to his hairline. "Which side?" He was not surprised when Myka punched him in the arm. "What, aren't you curious, unless you already know?" He teased but Myka's deep blush answered the question for him and he gasped. "How do you know? Did you see it? Did you show her?" Pete asked enthusiastically.

"No I did not show her." Helena said amused. "How did you know?"

Myka's blush deepened as she lowered her head and mumbled her answer.

"What was that?" Pete asked.

"I felt it!" Myka cried out embarrassed. "When you kissed me in the changeroom. That's when I noticed it." Her voice grew quieter and she wished the conversation would end.

"Changeroom?" Abigail asked as they joined her in the waiting room.

The conversation was interrupted as they heard a loud bang echo throughout the arena.

* * *

 

Claudia slowly stalked her way throughout the arenas floor searching for Steve. She'd trekked throughout the entire arena before spotting him in a tiny shack looking through a small window in the opposite direction to where she was. He was hiding out waiting for her to come to him, something that she considered to be a pretty slack move on his part and therefore decided that she would not feel guilty about what she was about to do. There were no rules stating that she couldn't do it, just that whoever got paint on them was out of the game.

She pulled out an orange sphere about the size of a baseball from the inside of her vest. It was something she had spent the night before working on in the hopes that they would get to do this task. On top of the sphere was a small silver hole. Claudia pulled a wind up key from her pocket and inserted it into the silver hole. She discretely snuck to the window that Steve was not looking through and turned the key several times. Once she heard it click to indicate that it was ready she dropped the ball inside the shack and dropped to the ground as quickly as possible.

Steve heard the ball hit the ground and looked at it in confusion. It took him a second to realise that it was something that Claudia had been tinkering with the night before but the instant he realised what it was he knew he was in trouble and desperately tried to bolt for the door. He heard a loud click and only just managed to cover his ears before the ball exploded, covering the inside of the shack in bright orange paint.

With the explosion over Claudia rose to her feet and peered through the window to see her handy work. In the centre of the tiny room stood Steve who was covered in orange splotches of paint and had a shocked look on his face. He was momentarily stunned before he starting laughing uncontrollably. "I take it you won?"

"Of course." She held the door open for him as he exited on slightly shaky feet. "Now let's return you back to the chocolate factory before Willy Wonka sends out a search party to find you."

* * *

 

"Claudia, Steve!" Myka yelled from the waiting area.

"Over here Myka." Steve replied as he and Claudia rounded the corner.

"What was that explosion?" Abigail asked before all four of them were stunned to silence once more.

"I won." Claudia laughed.

"If you call cheating winning." Steve laughed.

"It's not cheating, I was invoking my inner evil genius and clearly it paid off."

"Clearly." Pete agreed through bouts of laughter. "I am so relieved that you only shot me in the nipple and not unleashed  _this_  on me." He said waving his hand at Steve. "Ooh speaking of which, we now know what piercing H.G. got."

"Shut up! How?" Claudia asked.

"Apparently Mykes felt it while these two made out in a changeroom." He raised his eyebrows suggestively.

"I am never going to live this down am I?" Myka asked already knowing the answer.

"Never." Pete answered.


End file.
